JAMD
by sdacrystaldemon
Summary: James Blaze and his brother Dew Montagne are students at Beacon Academy, and there they have the time of their lives. Rivals and friends of both team RWBY and JNPR, team JAMD are brought into an already continuing plot of the perplexing White Fang and Cinder Fall. As they find more and more information and stop their plans, what happens when everything is turned on it's head?
1. Chapter 1 - A hell of a night

The plan James came up with was brilliant. Dress up in White Fang armour and join the robbery going down in a nearby dust store. His favourite dust store. He had planning this ever since he saw the 5 other stores in the city he lives in, City of Vale, get completely robbed of the dust supplies, putting the people who ran those stores out of the job. Waiting around the corner of the store, he saw the men in white armour gather in front of the store, whispering stuff to each other. Silently, he walked to the back of the crowd and tried to blend in.

The other members were none the wiser. The front guy opened the door and they all spilled into the store, walking around and looking at all the dust. James walked all the way down to the back of the store, expecting to find no one there. However, He found a younger girl in a red hood get up, reading a magazine and listen to music. He walked up next to her and grabbed a magazine in front of her, just to get her attention.

She turned to her left and looked at James, who had smartly removed his mask to not freak the girl out. He looked at her and they exchanged a quiet smile with each other, and then they both went to reading. The robbery hadn't begun, but the shopkeeper was defiantly scared by the fact that 10 men wearing armour and masks that just walked through his doors. He was also probably scared for the girl who was at the back of his store. A man approached the shop keeper and leaned on the counter.

"_Say, how much is the dust here?_" asked the man. He seemed very ordinary for a member of the White Fang. The shopkeeper was reluctant at first, but finally talked to the apparent leader of the group.

"_The dust is... Um..._" The keepers mind drifted off as a strange man causally strolled into the store, waving his walking cane around.

He seemed very confident and suave as he walked over to each person and whispered something into their ears. They all began to move to each dust depository and pulled out bags. Then the dapper with his black hat pointed his grey cane at the shopkeeper. A cross hair flicked up at the end of the cane, suggesting there was more than meets the eye with him. He raised his free hand up, all his fingers together and point to the roof. Then, without a word, he clenched his hand and the men got to work, stealing all the dust from the reservoirs. The shopkeeper scowled , and went to move towards the men, to stop them. But the cane was still pointed at him, so he immediately stopped moving towards the burglar and looked at the man in the white suit.

"_So, you are the White Fang blokes I keep hearing about, huh?_" asked the shopkeeper. It wasn't that surprising that the keeper had heard of the White Fang robberies, as it was all over the news. You couldn't go 5 feet without hearing someone talking about them.

"_Oh please. They aren't even Faunus. But yes it is true we do work for them, or is it the other way around? I don't really seem to remember that well._" replied the man, his over confidence spilling out everywhere. He continued to stand in the same spot for 10 minutes, allowing the goons to ransack the entire store; all its contents sitting in the middle of the room. Soon enough, all that was left was the back of the store, which had probably the least amount of dust related items in the store, but they still wanted everything valuable. As soon as the members got to the back, they found the two kids reading magazines, standing about 2 feet apart. Upon seeing this, a goon called out "There are people here!", as if to say they had checked the store to make sure there was none. The other men rushed to the back, and found the same thing. James turned to his right, and tapped the red girl on the shoulder, and gestured for her to take off her headphones.

"_Hi, I'm James. James Blaze. nice to meet you._" said James to the girl next to him, taking the situation they were in very lightly. The girl looked at him with her head turned side ways, and then smiled.

"_Ruby. Ruby Rose._" said the girl. _Ruby, Huh? fitting. _thought James, as he pointed out that there were men here to rob the store to Ruby.

Ruby held up one finger, signifying to wait a moment, and pulled a flat red and black rectangle from her back, and unfolded it. It was a giant high calibre sniper scythe 7 feet tall that almost gave James a heart attack as soon as he saw it. James mimicked Ruby and pulled out some plain weight gloves. These were Black and had a light green symbol of a dragon on it. Seeing this, Ruby tilted her head again, even more confused. James then pulled 3 dust crystal from his pockets: A red one, a green one and a yellow one. He smashed each one with his hands, fusing them to the gloves. This fuse also caused a physical change to the gloves, as they turned 3 three shades of dust he fused. They then settled on the colour red, turning his hands into fists made of fire. The event turned Ruby's confused expression into a surprised and then mystified expression.

"_Wow! That was **SO** cool! How did you do that?_" exclaimed Ruby, obviously impressed.

James just simply shrugged his shoulders, and then pointed out again to Ruby that they were in the middle of a robbery. She simply laughed and smiled, which melted James' heart. She then turned around a shot her scythe at the nearest guy, sending him flying into the wall. James also turned around and attacked the nearest guy to him, but his fists just can't compete with a sniper rifle, but he could damn well try. He threw 30 punches in the blink of an eye at the man, shattering his mask and teeth, and leaving scorch marks on the wall behind him. The other men ran to the front of the front of store, readying themselves as they get there. The man lowered his cane and walked out the front door, along with the rest of his goons. He turned around only to have a man arrive at his feet, unconscious.

"_You were worth every cent, you truly were._" said the man, who the goons had called Roman.

Roman walked over the left, then to the right, and finally settled for a bowing pose. James walked towards Roman, very confused. Roman raised his cane. James raised his fists. Ruby joined the fray, and raised her weapon, be it a bit back from James. Ruby and James went for an attack but a pillar of fire suddenly appeared in front of them, catching James in the middle of it. Ruby staggered backwards, and then saw the silhouette of James inside the pillar, and screamed. It was inconceivable that anyone could survive the consistent searing heat of a fire pillar. But when the tornado finished spinning, James was not only not a charred corpse, but he looked even better than before. Ruby ran over to James, to check on him, but he stopped her before she could.

"_Hold on, Ruby._" mumbled James.  
>"<em>I have a bad feeling about this.<em>"

He moved towards Roman yet again and cementing James' theory, another fire pillar engulfed him. He waited in place, crossing his arms and tapping his foot. When the fire subsided, he kept the pose, scoring a chuckle from Ruby. James was wasn't done testing yet, and immediately ran for Roman. The fire pillar appeared, but James didn't care. He ran straight through it and smacked the side of Roman's face hard, causing blood to spat out of his mouth. Roman held his hand over his mouth, showing great distress. From the right of James was a corner, and from it a woman wearing red appeared. Her dress, which was probably silk, was elegant and the way she walked was fancy.

"_So I guess you are his guardian angel or something?_" asked James, who was now standing next to Ruby.

The woman didn't speak, but simply looked. She was sort of surprised that a goon was now attacking the other goons. James didn't like these clothes. His normal clothes; black jumper, red shirt with a smiley stick of dynamite on it, white, baggy jeans with a black belt and white sneakers. Perfect for someone as relaxed as James.

"_Please._" answered the woman.

She had already finished her check up of James, and was now more focused on Ruby. She looked up and down, and seemed to like what she saw. Strange symbols and text appeared around the woman and a burst of fire clocked Ruby in the face. Seeing this, James didn't hesitate and switched his fist from flames to electricity. In one solid motion, James' fist sunk into the woman's stomach, causing her in wince in pain. However, she continued to assault Ruby with fire bursts, which Ruby began to dodge after the third or fourth time. It seemed to James that Ruby was extremely fast, and can dodge things flying at high speeds. It was her semblance. _I wish I knew what my one was. _thought James as he stood by idly watching Ruby. He really liked her, but he had no chance of ever meeting her again. James was going to Beacon academy. After a few exchanges between Ruby and the fire woman, another woman appeared, sporting glasses and a riding crop.

"_You two, stay back!_" she yelled to Ruby James as the fire woman's gaze laid on the newcomer.

Ruby immediately stopped moving and went into a state of stardom. James hadn't the faintest clue who this woman was, but she seemed important. James moved up next to Ruby and leaned his head in close to hers.

"_So Ruby, who is that?_" innocently asked James.

Ruby quickly spun around and looked at James as if he had just swore at an old woman.

"_Who is that?! You are kidding me right?_" Even in this emotional state, Ruby still seemed cute to James, which was something hard to do.

James returned the look, as if Ruby had said something that made no sense. They both chuckled and then returned to gazing at the two woman fighting. Ruby's eyes lighted up and she tugged on James' arm. She had an idea.

"_Let's follow them!_" exclaimed Ruby, extremely eager to get moving.

James agreed to the change of scenery, and the two chased the fight. Ruby was fast, but James was also inherently fast. He had a bit of trouble keeping up with Ruby, but he managed. They arrived on top of a building, which surprised James because he never remember running up any walls. The woman in red jumped in a bullhead and flew off. James wiped the sweat off of his brow and caught his breath. He then walked up and joined Ruby and the woman Ruby had been calling "Ms. Goodwitch". After she had finished talking to Ruby, Ms. Goodwitch moved over to James, and knock him out cold.

When James regained conscious he was in a totally different place. For starters, it wasn't outside. Secondly, the walls were concrete grey and the room was lighted with one simple white glob, positioned in the middle of the room. He sat at a white metal desk, which he could guess was metal because he couldn't move his hands to touch it. He stretched his hands, just to see if he could get any movement or feel and resistance. He felt rope around his wrists and his gloves had been removed. He looked around the room, and he couldn't see them anywhere. James would normally freak out if he ever lost his gloves, but he knew that he was somewhere where he would get them. He guessed he was in a police station two blocks away from the dust store, "From dust till dawn", the store of which he was at only... Well, he didn't how much time had passed. In fact, James was sick and tired of guessing all the time, and he wanted someone to come and talk to him. Ruby, perhaps? _Heh, yeah right. _Yet again, James guessed that she had already been questioned or was going to be soon after James. He had actually been in this position before, but he never talked about that time. It was actually what got him a place at Beacon, but before he remind himself that he didn't want to remember that time, a man walked into the room, sipping on a cup of tea.

"_Ah, James Blaze, It has been too long. Too long indeed._" the man simply known as Ozpin, with his grey hair and green neck scarf with cross pin, sat opposite to James. James simply stared at him, acting like he didn't know the man. He was actually thinking when he got changed back into his usual clothes: Black track suit pants, a red t-shirt with a smiley dynamite on it, a black jacket and flat bottom shoes.

"_Oh, don't worry, you didn't change your clothes yourself._" said Ozpin, understanding the blank look on James' face. This made James look at Ozpin in a disgusted expression. Ozpin all most had his tea come of his nose.

"_A robot did it. So you don't have to worry about anything. Now, speak with me. It has been a while since I last saw you._" Ozpin put down his cup of tea, adjusted his glasses, and put his hands together on the table. "How's the family?"

"_You know exactly how it is going. Both my parents are dead, Dew's still a shut in, mum is still a stay-at-home mother, Dad is who knows where, and I kind of going to the school you run._" James gave Ozpin the look he always gave him, a slight grin on his face. Ozpin liked this.

"_Well, I guess I have nothing left to ask you, besides..._" he sipped his tea again. Either his sips were minute, or he had never ending amount of tea, because a cup so small couldn't hold so much tea in it. "

_What were you doing at a store robbery dressed as a White Fang thug?_" Ozpin's was disappointed, as if he thought James had joined the White Fang. Again. James returned the look, which wiped Ozpin's off his face.

"_I was getting pay back. I have lost 4 stores that I frequent at, and I was not going to lose the last one nearby. It's bad enough it's a 30 minute walk from the house, and I leave Dew alone for so long._" Dew Montagne is James' younger brother, though James was adopted by Dew's parents, who were friends of James' parents.

Dew was only 4 months younger than James, but he acted as if months were years. His mental state had always been a concern for James, so leaving the house for an hour was the absolute limit he could ever leave him alone for. Ozpin stood up, walked around and untied James. Ozpin stuck out his hand, and James shook it. They both left the building, and Ozpin called a taxi for James. As the taxi arrived, James stopped short of getting in it.

"_By the way, what time is it, Ozzy?_" James asked Ozpin. Ozpin told him to stop calling him that and said it was 12:00 pm. James got into the Taxi and told him the address of his house. James' mother should be have been home several hours ago, so James put no thought into it when he remembered that he left Dew all alone.


	2. Chapter 2 - First impressions

James awoke to the sound of plates smashing and people screaming. He checked his alarm and saw it was 8 o'clock, which meant that he wasn't meant to be up for another hour. He got of bed, took of his "Vav" Pyjamas and changed into his carefully picked hunter uniform. A black pair of jeans with a white belt, a green varsity vest with a black "B" on it, a "C.O.V" (City Of Vale) cap, his Mixed Martial Arts gloves and black shades with green rims. He opened his door to see a plate fly down the corridor. Something was up. He poked his head out of doorway and looked towards the kitchen, which two people have a heated argument were. The voices were still muffled because he just got up, but he knew it was a man and woman. _Mum and Dad? _James' mind raced as he made his way down the torn up corridor, and found his Mum and Dew arguing. James quickly broke the two up, freaking out.

"Oi! What the hell happened here? What are you two fighting over?" James was actually starting to get scared of that answer, and wished he added "Don't answer that" to the end of it.

James' mother was the first to speak up. "This blithering idiot couldn't get the god damn eggs correct!" his Mum stunk of alcohol, which surprised James, as she hadn't been known to drink, let alone get drunk. James turned to Dew, who was crying rivers. His sniffling attempt of a reply was enough to for James to push his mother up against the wall. Even though she is his biological mother, she hadn't been there for James or Dew. The custody battle happened when before Dew was even born. James was now furiously red, even a few veins were popping out.

James and Dew walked out of the house, and closed the door. Dew had recovered from the fight, and James' fists too. They got on James' custom built motorbike "Topp Dogg", with its completely green, black and white exterior, and raced to the nearest extraction point. As soon as they got there, many other people appeared, all about the same age. This was the transport to Beacon academy, and James and Dew were going to it. James parked his bike and Dew got off the back, slightly dazed at the speed of which they were travelling. They walked together to the airship and hopped on, finding a seat before the rest got on. It was a 30 minute flight from there to Beacon, so a seat was a god send. As more people got on, James thought that either everyone was running late, or there wasn't many people attending this year, because with 5 minutes left to go, there was still a bit of space left. Then, at 1 minute left, someone came up behind James. She tapped James on the shoulder and he turned around. It was Ruby.

"Hey James. How's it going?" Ruby said, her voice pretty shaky. She seemed nervous.

"Not to bad, Ruby. Had a little run in with some trouble at home, but besides from that good. How about you?" James could see her nervousness slowly slipping away the more he talked to her.

"I'm a little nervous. I mean, just the thought of being of going to Beacon Academy, and so early as well..." she drifted off and focused her eyes on a girl with yellow, flowing hair in a black mini skirt. James stood up, leaned his head directly next to Ruby's, to see exactly what she was looking at.

"Hmm, she's pretty. You know her?" James said, scaring Ruby half to death. Ruby jumped to the side, and exhaled.

"She's my older sister, Yang." Ruby said, now focused on the conversation between her and James. James, however, lost his concentration as Yang sat down next to Dew and started talking to him.

"Hi there. I'm Yang." She introduced herself as she sat down next the boy who looked as lost as her sister had. He nervously looked at her, and immediately looked away. So he frightened by girls? Perfect.

"So, you also heading to Beacon?" She kept looking at him, which strangely enough made him look at her. His sea blue eyes seemed to allude that she wasn't looking at a supermodel.

'S-sorry. I'm just freaking out a little here. Um... I'm Dew. Nice to m-meet you, Yang."

The whole rest of the way, the two pairs continued to talk to each other. However, just before the airship landed, a person vomited all over a corner of the ship's deck, gathering everyone's collective attention. _Oh no. He's going to have a hard time here, isn't he? _James thought, slightly out loud, as Ruby then asked him what he was mumbling under his breath. He said it was nothing, and they continued to talk. When the Airship landed, everyone walked out of the metal interior and to the Beacon campus. "Vomit boy" as everyone was whispering to each other on the trip ran to the closest bin, and continued to vomit. James and Ruby said good-bye to each other, and they both found their respective siblings doing the same. James and Dew watch as the two sisters walk off, gawking in awe at the sheer size of Beacon. James and Dew also gawk. James and Dew walk around the premise, talking about expectations, when they suddenly bump into another student on his scroll. The scroll falls to the ground and the man on it picks it up.

"Oh shit! Sorry man, I guess we didn't see you there." James said, apologising for something he believed wasn't his fault, but by the look of the guy, he didn't seem the type to apologise first. Dew just stood to the side, observing the two's conversation.

"No, no. I am the one who is sorry here, I wasn't looking in front of me."

"Well, at least is your scroll alright? I know how expensive those are."

"It is completely unusable." his blunt tone was very disorienting for James.

"Fu... Well, I'll buy you a new one. I owe you that much at least."

"No need. I have another one right here." He pulled a brand new scroll from his pocket, and threw the broken scroll in the trash. The man was wearing a blue suit with a red tie, suggesting and blatantly saying that he is rich. The new scroll in his pocket further cemented the fact. James knew that he was somehow famous, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Dew, however, could. He pulled his brother over and whispered into his ear.

"Dude, that's Antonio Rodriguez. The son of the Escobar enterprise." James was taken back a bit by the fact that he was so famous. Escobar enterprises is THE company for manufacturing anything within Remnant, owning 70% of the market. The only other company that rivals Escobar enterprises is Schnee dust company, and they aren't even in the same field. James looked at the suited man, thinking of how to approach this. He could act lowly; acting like he wasn't worthy. Or he could act as if he was any other person on the campus who was like him. The latter took hold of James.

James walked in front of Antonio, striking up a conversation. "So Antonio, what made you want to become a hunter? I mean, I guess you have a good enough reason behind it, but you are the heir to the biggest manufacturing company."

The question caught Antonio off guard. No one had ever said something like that before. They normally avoided him or tried not to bother him, but this man. He was unlike anyone he had met before. Antonio didn't answer, admittedly a little scared of him, and simply walked off. It seemed extremely rude even by his standards to just walk off on someone, but Antonio didn't like the atmosphere he was sucked into. It was calm, relaxed and strangely a bit smoky, and Antonio was way out of his comfort zone there. He kept walking until he realised he had walked to the front gate of Beacon. He looked down at his phone. _What was that?_ Antonio had no idea who that was and why he liked him, but he certainly couldn't get close to anyone at Beacon. He was the top dog, the one who looked down on others. He had only come to Beacon to further aid his fathers political career. If his son became a world-class hunter, he would get positive feelings from voters and other politicians. Antonio had done everything for his father and his business. He walked back to the main building and saw a crowd people all gathering in an auditorium. Antonio, having no clue of what to do, joins the crowd and blends in the best he could. A blue suit amongst causal clothes made him stand out immensely, but no cared. After awhile, a girl rocked up next to him. She was wearing camouflage print pants with a Kevlar vest on her top half. Her purple eyes shined behind her dark shades, which Antonio of course picked up. He was pretty good with the girls. Turning around to greet her, he realised that he was missing his weapon. He named the claymore sword "Frystsvard" and it was the only present he ever got from his father. It is a sword powered by the dust type, "ice", and it could make ice streams wherever it struck, making Antonio a very feared foe. He searched everywhere in the immediate area but he couldn't find it. _What if someone stole it? _The chance someone might do this was pretty high. The chance someone actually knowing how to use it was close to zero, as ice dust wasn't something Schnee dust company could ship out in mass. Just when he was about to leave the crowd, the guy from before showed up.

"Hey, Antonio. I was just looking for you." his voice very friendly like. Antonio liked this, which made him hate it.

"What do you want?" his voice deep and husky, trying to deter his friendly tone towards him.

"Well, when I bumped into you, it seemed that you dropped something other than your phone." he pulled the Claymore from his side and handed it over to Antonio.

"You know, I think Hitch and Dawk enjoyed Frystsvard's company." Antonio look at him, first wondering who Hitch and Dawk were, and secondly how did he know that his sword was named that? Was he a stalker? _No, he's too calm and friendly for that. _Antonio pushed it out of his mind.

Antonio immediately sheathed his Claymore, turning his back on the guy and his presumed brother, walking through the crowd to get away. He was beginning to like someone, and he didn't hate it any more. The light went off, and the crowd burst into chatter, causing Antonio to scowl. Annoying, loud chatter is something he despised the most, and he wished that everyone there would just shut up. In fact, he hadn't remembered why he had even come to this place. Then lights shone on the stage, showing a man wearing a mostly green attire and small round-rimmed glasses.

Ozpin should before the audience, holding his cane in his right hand. He stood forward, at the edge of the stage, and gave his welcoming address to the freshmen as headmaster of Beacon. He was very clear and inspirational to many people, but not James. James already knew Ozpin and hearing him addressing everyone in mass didn't do much for him. The speech ended and Goodwitch told everyone to meet in the ball room for tomorrows initiation. After that was done, it was night-time, and there was talk of a big sleepover with all the new students. James and Dew hadn't been interested in the sleepover until they overheard Ruby and Yang talking about it.

"I don't know about this, Yang. I mean, I'm normally nervous around people during the day. I mean, Dad wouldn't so happy about the amount of boys." her voice coming from the around the corner from where James and Dew were walking. James stopped Dew, holding his finger up to his lips. Dew followed suit.

"Well, I certainly am!" responded Yang with a purr. The two brothers, without saying a word, tip toed over to the sleepover area. There, they found two beds close together, and made them theirs. James, not wanting to change into his "Vav" pyjamas simply changes into his black track suit pants, and took of his varsity vest. Dew changed into his causal clothes, also avoiding wearing his "X-ray" pyjamas. Dew wore his grey track suit pants with a plain grey shirt. They talked quietly to each other until they heard a large commotion, which turned out be Ruby, Yang, a girl in white and a girl in black, oddly enough surrounded in candles. Next to James, a girl in camo pyjamas took off her sleeping mask, obviously awoken from the noise.

"My god, will these people ever shut up!" her voice was deep, not too deep that it sounded manly, but enough to give her a distinct feel.

"Hey, if hadn't been them, it probably would've been us." James gestured to him and his brother, conversing with the woman.

"Oh really? Well, I love a good fight, so why not have it with me instead!" she was very active for a person who had been asleep for an hour.

"Ha ha, thanks but no thanks. I can just tell that you would kick my ass." James replied, a grin on his face.

"Aww, that's no fun! Well, I guess I'll to put that on rain-check." her mouth screwed up to one side, cheeks puffing. They talked for a little bit longer, even Dew got in on the conversation, but eventually they drifted off to sleep. The next day was the day for deciding partners and group. James couldn't wait for that time to come.


	3. Chapter 3 - In The Emerald Nightmare

When James woke up, it was to the sound of an alarm clock blaring in his left ear. He went to shut it off, slamming his fist down on it, not realising that it wasn't his. James had a habit of smashing alarm clocks, so he built his own one during his time at Signal made out of diamond tipped titanium. The sound of the alarm breaking woke up more people than the actual alarm itself. James swore, cutting himself on the metal pieces, sitting up. He noticed that he wasn't next to Dew or the girl he met last night, but instead he was next to Ruby. _How did I end up here? _The thought that he and Ruby slept next to each other out of their own free will was unlikely, as they hardly knew each other. Dew must have done this. Ruby sat up, took off her sleeping mask and look around. She didn't seem like a morning person. She laid her eyes on James, and his topless body for a few seconds before realising that she wasn't meant to be next to James.

"Ah... Wha! J-James? What are you doing here?" her eyes kept drifting to his chest, which was loaded with a six pack. To break the tension, James grabbed his blanket and lifted it to cover his chest, looking embarrassed. Ruby laughed. They both got dressed and went to their allocated lockers, talking the whole way. There they met up with Yang and Dew, who also ended up next to each other. James looked down at his small piece of paper and read the number on it. _locker #420. _James ignored the lesson on how these lockers were rocket propelled and could be sent to any location around the City of Vale. James only remembered this because whilst accompanying his brother to his locker, #270, he wouldn't stop talking about it. Dew had a Rocket launcher, which is probably why he wouldn't shut up, which he called "Black Market". It could hold up to 4 rockets at a time and could also transform at the flick of a switch on the side to a military shovel. It helps that Dew's semblance is explosion proof, allowing him to launch it at close range. He loved anything explosive, and it had become his forte to know about everything there was to know. James followed the group, not really in it until he arrived at a cliff. He snapped back into reality when Dew noticed he had been out of it.

"Hey James, you alright? You look a bit out of it. Is it about Mum?" Dew said, trying to understand what his brother was thinking.

"Hmm? Uh... Yeah. It's just... I mean..." He drifted off again, focusing on the ground in front of him.

"Well, don't think about it, ok? We are at the Beacon cliffs, and we are about to start the partner selection." Dew gestured towards the other participants, who were standing ready on top of grey slabs in the ground, things James could only guess were the launchers he'd so much about from Dew. Ozpin and Goodwitch were reading off the participants names one by one, getting a complete role call. Then, as Ozpin was talking about this "test", the people at the start of the line started getting flung into the forest below. Well, not quite. They propelled themselves further with their weapons, either accelerating faster to increase the length of the fall, ultimately softening the landing or just straight out softening the landing. Before it got to James, just after Ruby and Yang, Ozpin told them about a new type of monster found in the forest.

"This new monster found the forest is call a "Pouncing Woods" and is distinguished by its speed and agility, but also known for its long, sharp claws. Avoid any close contact with the Grimm and you should be fine." James had just heard the end of this when Yang, the person next to him, launched off the edge of the cliff. James prepared himself by putting a red dust crystal in his mouth, acting as if it was a cigar. He held the other 3 crystals in his hands; there wasn't enough room in his mouth for all of them. The platform beneath him sprung forward, propelling him faster than he thought across the top of the forest. He smashed all four dust crystals and quickly used his now translucent green fist to stop himself from crashing full force into the ground. The force of the wind coming from his fists caused trees to be ripped from the ground and flung into the air, causing James to take cover. After the trees stopped falling, James emerged and started walking towards what he thought was the direction of the temple. As he walked, he whistled a tune of his favourite song, "DPBM", and switched his fists around. Earth, Fire, Electricity, Ice, Wind. He then started to combine them, something he would do on a regular basis at Signal. _Earth+Fire=Lava. Ice+Fire=Water. Fire+Wind=Blaze special. _Fire was his favourite and because of that, all of his combinations consist of fire, except for one, which every one of his friends kept telling. _Water+Electricity=Super Shocker. _

Suddenly, an Ursa body flew across his path, narrowly missing him. He turned his head and saw Yang with a girl in black, who he had heard was named Blake. They saw him, and he walked over to talk to them.

"Hey James, how is it going?" Yang asked.

"Pretty bad. Destroyed a section of the forest by accident and I have been walking around for a while now. In fact, you two are the first people I've seen." James leaned over and stretched out his hand to Blake.

"Nice to meet ya. I'm James Blaze. And you must be..." Before he could finish, Blake shook his hand, almost smiling.

"Blake Belladonna. Nice to meet you two." she let go of his hand, and James leaned back. Blake had something different, something that made James at home. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"So you two became partners? I guess it wasn't avoidable, but I kind of feel bad for Ruby." James said to the two. They looked at each other, and smiled.

"I think she'll find a great partner. Besides, we have still have a chance to be in the same team." Yang said. Blake simply nodded, showing her agreement with the statement.

"Well, I guess so. I also fear for Dew, because if I don't end up on his team, he'll lose it." James' face changed from his usual calm smug grin to a frown with a knitted brow. He looked at the ground, thinking about a world where he doesn't get on the same team as Dew and it is bleak. Yang bobbed down and moved her head in James' vision, bringing his head back up.

"Don't worry about it. What you have to worry about is finding a partner." Yang bumped Blake on the shoulder, which she took coldly as she usually does. James smiled. He knew that he had some friends besides Ruby now. James looked at Blake's bow, which immediately made him think of his mother.

"You know, my mum had the exact same bow." he pointed at Blake's bow. "She actually would use it to cover up her cat like ears. She's a Faunus. Well anyway, she kept it a secret from my father for 3 whole years before I was born. She wanted him to know before one of their children suddenly came out with some animal appearances." James laughed. He hadn't told anyone that story before, probably because no one wore a bow. Yang and Blake both laughed along with him. When they stopped, Blake gave James a look up and down, looking for something.

"So, I guess from that story that you or Dew came out a Faunus?" Blake said, still looking at James. James smiled.

"Well, I guess you'll have to find out some time." he said, causing Yang to stick out her tongue at him. James did the same, only his tongue forked at the end.

"Oh my god! So you are a Faunus! What about Dew, is he a Faunus?" Yang was excited. She hadn't met any Faunus before, let alone have one reveal themselves to her. James shook his head. Whilst James was born with a forked tongue and sharp, reptilian fangs, Dew had been born from a different mother. His Dad left James' mum after she joined the White Fang. Yang was almost jumping up and down with excitement, before James had decided that maybe they should get going. James said he wasn't going to the temple straight away; He wanted to find a partner first. Yang and Blake waved goodbye before disappearing into the thick of the forest. James waited in the small clearing, whistling and changing his fists again. He wasn't aware of the fact that a Grimm had managed to sneak up on him. It crept silently behind James, oblivious of the creatures presence, and raised its claw in the air. It was about to strike down on James when a gunshot tore through the beasts leg. It roared out, scaring James half to death. He turned around and saw the girl from the night before, her name being Melia L. Get. She waved to James, as if the giant Grimm wasn't even there. James switched to his flame fists and prepared to fight, when He realised that this was a Pouncing Woods, the new type of Grimm found in the emerald forest. It had the usual bone-like coverings, striped down the body of the beast, and a skull on his head. It had 2 eyes, both red and white claws jutting out of its paw. It was a bit unusual, however, because when it would move, it look as if it teleported, disappearing from sight a split second.

"Hey!" Melia called out across the clearing. She was wearing a Kevlar vest and camouflage pants. She held two golden guns in her hands as she joined James, staring down the Pouncing Woods.

"So, what is this thing? I haven't seen this before, and that's not right because I've studied everything about every Grimm discovered." she said, very confused. James explained how it was a new Grimm found recently, and that they don't know much about it other than it exists. Melia became even more confused. They continued to stare down the beast, before it teleported right in front of them. Startled, Melia feel backwards in fear, but James stood his ground. With his fists ablaze he slugged the Grimm square in the face. The explosion moved the Grimm back about a metre or so, but it didn't faze it. It attacked James, Teleporting straight into him. On the ground, James tried to suck back in the air he lost when he smacked the ground, but the massive weight on top of him stopped him from doing that. The Pouncing Wood clawed at James, just out of reach due to James propping it above him. Struggling, James slightly dropped the Pouncing Wood, allowing it to just scrape him with its claws. It ripped through his clothes, and cut him on the chest, though only lightly. He kicked it off him and rolled back, joining a recovering Melia. She had begun to take shots at it whilst it was on top of James, but now that it wasn't on him she unloaded a clip into it. It basically did nothing. The Pouncing Wood teleported towards them again and Melia took the offensive, because James was standing in place, staring at his torn clothes.

Running forward, Melia clicked her dual golden desert eagle, transforming them into two laser swords. Striking the bony body of the Pouncing Wood, Melia was surprised to find it took the cuts and healed them instantly. She continued to slice at it, making sure it didn't have a chance to escape, but it was to no avail. The deep wounds on the side of the Grimm healed itself faster than she could cut it, making her extremely frustrated. Feeling tired, Melia slowed her pace, and this allowed the Grimm to take a swipe at Melia, knocking her to the ground. She felt her side; No blood. She wasn't cut. She got up and saw a still unmoving James, holding his chest, which was profusely bleeding. Melia ran up next to James, trying to see if she could help him, but as soon as she got to his side, the blood stopped bleeding. However, the wound didn't heal itself, it was just that his blood ran out and so it wasn't able to bleed.

"James... Are you ok? You need some help there?" Melia reached out and grabbed James' shoulder. He was cold. Melia was confused. _Was he dead? _He was moving, breathing, anything. But he was still standing up. What did it mean? She couldn't understand.

James' flashback to his childhood had taken a lot longer than he thought. The blood had reminded him of his time in the White Fang, trying to find his mother. He had originally joined them after his mother had left, and James kind of agreed with the movement. He didn't like being picked because he was different to everyone else. It made him mad. So he thought he might be able to leaves those people behind and find his mother. A win-win situation. Well, even in amongst his own people, he was still the odd one out. See, no one really has forked tongues, sharp fangs and slitted pupils. He was a stranger among strangers. It made him even madder, and when James couldn't take it any more, his anger won him over and caused him to explode. Literally. In a sparring match with some of his bullies, James light himself ablaze with a red dust crystal. Normally, this would only change his hands to fire, but James turned his whole body on fire, turning a fiery, translucent red, killing 5 people who were unfortunate enough to be near by. He was on cloud nine when he did this. The power he felt was so great that he thought he could down anyone. Fortunately and unfortunately, his mother put an end to his rampage, but not after losing half the blood in her body. Ever since that day, James had been pretty mortified of blood of any type. He came to, shaking his head. He looked around and saw Melia fighting off a teleporting Pouncing Woods. She wasn't wining, but she was trying her hardest. James couldn't let this slide. He couldn't let that Grimm get the better of him. Instead of getting mad, he was going to get even. But that needed him to get mad.


	4. Chapter 4 - Out of the Emerald Nightmare

Near the temple already, Dew was worrying. Worrying more than he thought he could ever worry. He didn't see anyone, not a single soul. He wished he saw James, and they became partners because at least he would then be on the same team as him. He continued to pace around the decrepit temple, waiting if he could see anyone. A loud roar cut through the silence of the forest, startling Dew and causing him to fall over. He hit the ground hard, blacking out. When he came too, a hand was hovering in front of his face. He looked up and saw Antonio Rodriguez standing in of him, offering his hand to help Dew up. Dew grabbed his hand and lifted himself to his feet, smiling at Antonio, who was also smiling back. They nodded to each other. They both knew that that noise was bad. They rushed over to a small clearing, with a Grimm looking monster teleporting everywhere. James was standing still, holding his chest which seemed to be red. Melia was fighting the best, but however she was losing. Dew fired a rocket at the beast, and it hit it in the side, rolling in over. It got up and dodged the next 3 rockets with ease. Dew wasn't too sure what was going on, but he knew that James wasn't right. He doesn't just stop moving.

"I'm going to go and see if James is ok. Antonio, you help Melia." Dew called out to Antonio, not bothering to turn around as he ran.

"Way ahead of you. Get him to join us on this Grimm immediately. We need all the help we can get." Antonio called back, running towards the fight.

Melia was sweating all over. It was obvious that she was at this for awhile. Antonio pulled out his claymore and struck the beast on its side, cutting it pretty deeply. Antonio was surprised that Melia's laser knives weren't doing the same, but then a quiet sizzling sound appeared, and the wound disappeared. Antonio was even more surprised at the fact that this Grimm could heal itself. It didn't have an aura, so just how could it possibly heal itself at all, let alone so fast. Antonio jumped back as the Pouncing Woods swiped at him, narrowly missing his torso. He turned his head and saw Melia next to him, both of them looking at each other. Antonio motioned for Melia to wait were she was. Antonio tightly gripped his swords handle and swiped down hard, crashing the end of it into the ground, embedding it. As the tip dipped down, a stream of ice shot out of it, heading at a fast pace towards the Pouncing Woods. It was so fast that it hit it as it teleported away, freezing half of its body solid. It tried to shake the ice off, but it wouldn't budge. Melia ran up to Antonio, putting her hand on his shoulder. She was impressed. Antonio motioned again for her to wait, and he lifted his sword from the ground, spinning it around in front of him. As he stopped spinning it, the sword was now a Jackhammer shotgun. Antonio placed his finger on the trigger and squeezed. The slugs coming out of the barrel were ice dust crystals, which caused the Ice on the Pouncing Wood to shatter, cutting the entire Grimm in half. The blood sputtered all over the ground, organs falling out everywhere. Then, like something out of a fiction story, the entire half of its body grow back. Antonio and Melia's mouth almost hit the floor as the Grimm came back and attacked them. Swiping at them, the Pouncing Wood didn't have enough time to block the attack coming the side.

As Dew reached James, James had started moving again. James turned his towards Dew, and James eyes seemed dead. Dew moved towards James, cautious of his temper. James was always relaxed and cool, something Dew admired about him, but it became apparent that he bottles it up inside, and when he releases his anger, stuff gets nasty. First, James' breathing returned to him, then movement in his hands and feet. Then his fists flared up and Dew knew that if he didn't stop him now, that nothing would. He ran up to his brother and, unwilling, smack him over the head with his shovel. He used enough force to actually kill a normal person, but James isn't one. The shovel dented itself over James' head, warranting a slight turn of the head from James. Dew stood back and fell to his knees. He now knew that not even he could stop his brother without Dew sacrificing himself. Dew, through tear covered eyes, watched as his brothers body engulfed entirely in flames, turning his into a skull. Dew's mind was a shamble mess, trying to build itself back up again, and one of the pieces clicked with him. Melia and Antonio needed to know that James wasn't going to care if they were there. He stood up, got his rocket launcher, now dented in the middle, and aimed it at the ground. He launched a rocket, propelling himself forwards, past James and towards Melia and Antonio. He landed, skidding to a stop. He then rushed his words out, as if they were seconds away from death. And they kind of were.

"Melia! Antonio! We need to get out of here. Like right now!" Dew's words were rushed and slurred, but he seemed to get the message across as the two of them stopped looking confused at each other and instead at him.

"What do you mean, Dew?" Melia said, looking just as confused as Antonio. Dew turned around and saw James was closer than he thought. He quickly grabbed the two by the arms and ran towards the temple, which was still empty. There he let go of them and caught his breath. He hadn't ran that hard since the last time James flipped out.

His vision a dark shade of red, his skin burning, his head throbbing. James was absolutely pissed, and nothing was going to stop him, not even his brother. He saw the rest of the people run off into the forest, but it didn't matter. James was only focused on the Pouncing Wood. A usually teleported creature now was reduced to a slow walking baby in the eyes of James. He sprinted towards it, giving it no chance to escape. He jumped and with his right arm brought his elbow down across the face of it. The explosion blinded and scarred the Pouncing Wood, causing blood to rush from its wound. James didn't give the beats time to feel pain. He continued to barrage the Grimm with a flurry of fists, jabbing mostly the sides of its body, breaking ribs and other unimportant bones. What James was aiming for was a full brutality, and he got what he wanted. The Beast, due to the sheer combined pressure of the punches, exploded into a mass of blood and guts flying everywhere. James, feeling extremely relieved, fell to the ground, blacking out. It wasn't until a little later that he came too, surrounded by worried faces. He sat up, looking around. He was at the temple with his brother sitting next to him, who jumped to his feet as soon as he sat up. James was still dazed from his rage fit, which he thought had only lasted for a few seconds and didn't relatively nothing too bad. He looked towards the clearing where he last was conscious, expecting to find a line of trees around it. Instead, he saw a smoulder mess of forest. Burnt trees, some still alight, a large amount of blood splattered in the middle. It looked like a bomb went off. James then looked at the people surrounding him. Melia L. Get, his pretty partner in Camo and Kevlar. Antonio Rodriguez Escobar Kavar Tenochtitlan, the rich boy in his fancy clothes and sword placed on his shoulder. Dew Montagne, his step brother. He continued to sit, standing was important now.

Breaking the silence, Melia said, "Glad your awake. Grab your piece and lets get going." James turned his head. A set of four statues for each chess pieces, both gold and black. Everything was still there, except 3 black pawn pieces. James was now required to stand and walk. He did not feel up to it. Dew stood up, walked up and grabbed the piece and handed it to James. James smiled at Dew, acknowledging the deed. Dew smiled back. A rustle was heard and bushes started to move. Everyone, standing or not, jumped up and readied their weapons; who knew what it was. Two figures appeared, and when they stepped into the light of the sun, everyone relaxed. It was Blake and Yang, finally finding their way to the temple. They greeted everyone and joined the group. Then, like Blake and Yang, Nora Valkyrie and Lei Ren joined the group of students. Now all they were missing were Ruby, Weiss, Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos.

"So Yang and Blake, seen Ruby or Weiss?" James asked, wisely choosing these two as they know of the two. They shook their heads. No one had seen anyone else. Suddenly, Jaune came running out of bush, along side Pyrrha. They was a golden glow behind them, which turned out to be a Death stalker. Everyone readied themselves, this time was for real. At the same time, a large shadow covered the temple. Looking up, James saw a Nevermore flying over head, filling James with a mixture of excitement and dread. Two deadly Grimms at the same time. Still looking up at the sky, two small figures fell from the back of the beast. When they landed, it was Ruby and Weiss. After that, everyone gathered their pieces and left for the cliff face, trying to get out. An old ruin was left lying out in the open, just on the outside of the cliff. Cornered off, the Nevermore circling around, the Death Stalker blocking their escape. They needed a plan.

James had suggested that they break into teams. Everyone, including Dew thought this was an excellent idea. Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang would fight the Nevermore. Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha and Lei would take on the Death Stalker and the rest would support. At least that was the plan. A third Grimm had managed to get itself in the fray, and it wasn't a friendly. An Ursa, maybe 5 metres tall, climbed up to the bridge platform were Dew was. The Grimm scared everyone half to death, clawing at everyone, trying to get someone. It managed to grab someone right as James slammed his fist into the skull of the Ursa, causing it to lose grip and fall, with Dew in hand. Hitting the ground, Dew was winded, gasping for the air that left his lungs. The Ursa next to him wasn't as lucky as Dew; it was dead. Sitting up, hand on his head, Dew looked through his blurry vision too only see the bottom of the cliff. Then, emerging the side, 20 or 30 figures approached Dew, surrounding him. They had white heads, and many other things that made Dew fear for his life. A family of Ursa's. feeling his vision fading, Dew gave a cry for help, before passing out. Upon waking up, Dew was still surrounded, but this time by his friends. He wasn't as dazed as before, and he could make out about 100 more Ursa's than when he fell. He stood up, surprising the others. He got his rocket launcher and loaded it up with 4 rockets and bent his knees, waiting for the initial strike, which came from James. The onslaught had begun.


	5. Chapter 5 - Break it in

After the Emerald forest test, an award ceremony was held for those who succeeded. Each team was made up of two partners; four people. They were given names based on the first letter of each persons name. The first group to be announced was team JNPR, comprised of Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha and Len. The next team to be announced was team RWBY. As soon as the leader was said to be Ruby, the look on her face was of pure excitement and happiness. Looking at this, James felt happy for her, something he didn't normally feel towards others. Ruby looked over at James as she was herded towards the stage by her fellow team mates, smiling. James smiled back, allowing Ruby to move forward independent of those pushing her. Accepting the certificates and sitting down, Ozpin, the MC of evening, moved onto the next teams. Team CFVY was next, then team CRDL, a team of the worst people you could find at Beacon, a stance James would defend to his last breathe though he hadn't ever met any of them. Nearing the end of ceremony, James was beginning to feel nervous. He had passed, so why hadn't his team been called yet? Confused, he looked to his brother for maybe a difference in expression, but it was like looking in a mirror. Still looking at people he knew, they all showed the same faces, confusion. In James' pocket, his scroll vibrated, causing him to pick it up and check what was making it do that. A message was on the screen, from Ruby.

_- What's up with the team selection? You did pass, right?  
><em>Having nothing better to do, James replied.  
><em>- I know right? I could have swore I passed. Maybe it has something to do with burning a large section of the forest.<br>_- _That was you? I was wondering why I saw a massive charred area._

No longer looking at the nothingness in front of him, Dew looked to his brother. He saw him laughing and texting on his scroll, probably to Ruby. Dew was happy that James had found someone he really liked, but he hoped, for everyone's sake, that she didn't break his heart. It never went down pretty. Looking away, Dew looked back to the ceremony going on, hoping his team was going to get called. To his luck, it was about to be called.

"Now, if you thought the first two teams of the night, JNPR and RWBY were some pretty good achievers, defeating a Nevermore and Death Stalker, the next team is going to blow them out of the water. As you all might know, a new type of Grimm, the "Pouncing Woods", was discovered in the Emerald forest not too long ago, and not knowing much about it, it was told to the students that if they were to encounter it, they were to run. Unfortunately, it seemed that it was an impossibility to run away from it, having the ability to teleport to nearby areas. The receiving end of this, and the two that make up the first half of this team, were James Blaze and Melia L. Get. Would you two please come up here."

Standing up, and looking across to see her partner, Melia made her way to the stage. Whilst there, Ozpin discussed with James the events of the attack, everything from the first encounter to the brutal finish. Melia was looking at the crowd, trying to take in this moment. She had never had the chance to be apart of such a prestigious team. Granted, she only had James on her team yet, but even with just him, she felt that anyone else could only raise the quality of the team. Finally, after a scolding from Ozpin to James about the burning of the forest, he made his over to ask Melia some questions, something she wasn't to comfortable with. However, with Ozpin asking the questions, she felt like she could answer to the best of her ability.

"So, Melia, as we discussed with James, your choice of weapons are somewhat... unique." Ozpin addressing the audience, like some kind of T.V presenter.  
>"Yes, that is correct, Professor. They are dual golden desert eagles, with a second function of being two small laser blades. I built them myself."<p>

Antonio was almost about to fall asleep when he and Dew were called to the stand. He knew that if James and Melia were called up, he would be called up as well. He didn't mind, he liked the people in his team, though he doesn't know them as well as he would like. Getting to know people is dangerous in the business world, but if you happen to know someone, you know everything about them. To trust someone is to sign your life away, and Antonio was feeling a strong urge to do just that. His team name was announced, under the captaincy of James. Team JAMD. Waiting around the end of the night, his team left the building and went to the room allocated to them. It was on the left of team RWBY's and diagonally to the right of team JNPR. The room was divided into 4 signal beds and four separate cabinets. It was extremely cramped, something Antonio took issue with.

"The room is too cramped." Antonio said, immediately as they walked through the door.  
>"Well Antonio, unless you have a better idea then I suggest you quit complaining. I want to have a good first night sleep." Melia replied, looking tired.<br>"I'm sleeping next to James no matter what!" Dew yelled, overly loud.  
>"I have it. Why don't we increase the space by making bunk beds." James interjected, thinking he had a very smart idea.<p>

Everyone agreed after about 10 minutes of throwing around answers. They placed the beds on top of each other, and luckily enough, the feet of the bed were metal, allowing James to weld the beds together. Sorting out who gets the top bunk and the bottom bunk was surprisingly hard, as everyone wanted to go on the top. James tried to get at least one person to go on the bottom bunk by saying it would be annoying to get up on the top bunk over and over again, which backfired on James and he ended up getting the bottom the bunk. From there, Dew got the top bunk of James' bed, and it was down to Melia and Antonio to figure out the bunk position. A game of paper, scissors, rock ensued, resulting with Melia getting the bottom bunk, and Antonio getting the top. They all changed into their pyjamas and got to doing their own things in bed. James watched videos on his scroll, Dew listened to music, Antonio texted his father and Melia went to sleep. This behaviour wasn't long lived, as a few uninvited guests made themselves home in their room. Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang dropped by to say hi. They all had a fun time talking and joking to each other into the late hours of the night. James decided to talk to other people than Ruby, but he ended up only talking to one other person than Ruby, and that was Blake. James found her to be mysterious, a riddle wrapped in an enigma, like she was trying to hide something. She was polite, quiet, shy. Everything James liked in a friend. He had his eyes set on anther girl. They talked to each other about a numerous amount of things: Books, weapons, each other, other people, White Fang etcetera. But the big thing they talked about was James being a Faunus.

"So, What's like being a Faunus? I heard that they get picked on a lot." Blake asked James, a look of innocence on her face.  
>"It's not so bad. I personally don't get picked on, maybe because of the fact that I can beat up anyone who does." James replied, relaxed. He didn't mind talking about his difference to others.<br>"Why don't you hide it?" asked Blake, almost as if she was doing just that. James shrugged.  
>"No need to, I guess. I have a difference in body composition than all of those like me. I have a similar tongue, forked and long, but my pupils are rounded, not slitted." He turned his away from Blake, looking straight ahead.<br>"Also, my ears work like normal, were as others ears are just... There. They don't work nor do they serve a purpose, because they can feel the vibrations of sound through their lower jaw." James said, taking a breath before continuing on.  
>"I guess it's just that I'm unique, built for incognito. To answer your question, I have no need to." James exhaled, turning his head back towards Blake, expecting to find her disinterested or talking to someone else, but she was watching James with her attentive eyes. This surprised James, almost creeping him out, but he instead took it as a nice gesture. She was interested in what he was saying, and even if she wasn't, she was doing a damn fine job hiding it. Blake changed the topic and for the rest of the night, everyone enjoyed themselves.<p>

The next few days were spent learning; stuffing ones head full of the information it could hold. It was only the first week and everyone, even the mischievous were trying to learn as much before their old habits took hold. It was also a time to break in the teams; learn about each other, like each other, dislike others. It was not a week for socialising. That was saved for the weekend. And when it was the weekend, everyone went out. James wasn't planning to, as he wanted to stay in his room, maybe play some RTS' or FPS', with Dew and possibly Antonio and Melia, but when the alarm rang in his ear, he didn't expect a big pair of Silver eyes in his face. Ruby was leaning over him, possibly watching him sleep. This would normally freak him out, as any normally person would, but due to his feeling towards Ruby, he simply gave her the "Really?" look. She smiled at James and stood up, letting James get dressed. In his black track suit pants, Black jacket and white top, he followed Ruby out of his room, only to find the rest of team RWBY outside. He was going on a trip into town.

Ruby was overjoyed when James agreed to come with them to the city. She liked James, much more than other boy she had ever met. He was kind, polite and extremely charismatic. He was also some one who seemed to work well with Ruby, which was an added bonus. Stopping in every shop that some one thought they might find something. The day had gone swimmingly, as James said, and they all settled on a small coffee shop nearby Beacon. James had found his motorbike on the way, remembering he had forgot about it. He drove it back to the shop and waited for everyone to join him. Everyone but James and Ruby and coffee, and the trip ended successfully. That was until Blake and James excused themselves for a second to go and talk privately.

Blake had wanted to tell James her secret, the one thing she couldn't tell anyone else as they would only laugh at. She knew James would understand her pain and her reason to cover it up, unlike him. She stopped James in a nearby alley, and took off her bow. Her black cat ears stood on the top of her head, pointy and all. James looked at her with a look of amazement and kindness. He was completely normal with the situation. He put his hand on her shoulder, comforting her so that she didn't bad for hiding it, and it worked. She was amazed at how much better she felt with that weight off her shoulders. Though, as she only revealed her Faunus side to James, she would have to eventually have to tell her team mates, but that time was long away. Suddenly, a flash of light blinded Blake, causing her to drop to the ground. The light burned for ten seconds before subsiding, and James was gone. Thinking something bad had happened to him, she ran for the exit, but she stopped as a piece of paper fell in front of her. She grabbed it and gasped as she saw what was on it. A symbol with three red claw marks going through a red wolf. The symbol of the White Fang.


	6. Chapter 6 - Lost and Found

Jaune sat in his room and did some study for the day. He knew that if he didn't change his lazy way, he would end up failing. However, Jaune wasn't alone. Nora and Lie played cards and other sorts of games the entire day, making Jaune very irritated, but he put up with it. Pyrrha also studied, and when she had finished she helped Jaune, which made him feel both grateful and stupid. The day had gone well, getting a lot of information stuffed into his head, so much it hurt. Leaning back in his chair and stretching, Jaune had finally done all of his study, and now it was time to relax. Of course the universe couldn't allow Jaune to ever have a break, throwing a crying girl into his world. He sometimes wondered if someone was doing these kinds of things on purpose. Jaune, along with Nora, Lei and Pyrrha stepped outside their room to see what was going on. They saw that Ruby was crying in the doorway to her room. Jaune, felling confused and at the same time bad for Ruby, and walked over to her to see if she was Okay. Putting his hand on Ruby's shoulder, he tried to cheer her up.

"Hey Ruby, how's it going?" Jaune said, trying to act like nothing was happening. It didn't seem to help. Ruby continued to cry. Jaune slowly moved Ruby out of the doorway so that Pyrrha and the others could get inside and talk to the rest of Ruby's team.  
>"*Sniff* ... Jaune?" Ruby sadly said, apparently coming back to reality.<br>"Hey there. What's the matter? Why are you crying so much?" Jaune said, trying not to sound like a douche.  
>"James... He's... He's... Gone!" Ruby cried out, continuing to sob.<p>

James woke up, not in his bed at Beacon or at home, not even lying down. He woke up chained by his wrists to a wall, with nothing on but a pair of yellow prison pants. James wondered, more than anything else, why he was wearing these pants. Had someone stripped him naked? The thought of it alone was enough to get his blood boiling, but without Dust he couldn't do squat. He looked around the dark room to only find an array of tools on the wall. Upon seeing this, James immediately looked down at his naked chest; He swore he saw some of those tools covered in blood. All he saw was the three claw marks on his chest and the ground. The scarring of the wound was weird as all other wounds heal due to his aura, but then again the Pouncing Woods might defy aura and scar hunter. James wrestled his left hand hand free from the chains and smashed the chains on his right hand. He walked over to the outline which he thought might be a door and pushed. If it was a door, then it was locked. James searched the tool rack for something that could break down the door. He found only screwdrivers and wooden sickles. He looked under the workbench and found a nice surprise, a buzz-saw in an axe handle. He picked up the strange tool and ran one of his fingers on the saw blades. They were sharp. And the Buzz-saw rotated. walking over to the door, he cut his way through it. Once he had made a hole big enough to fit through, he realized that he broke his way through a wall, not a door. The wooden box, which was in the middle of a red forest, had no door. James didn't dwell on it; he had to get back to Beacon.

Ozpin was calmly sitting in office, talking to Glynda about this and that, passive stuff like budgets and special visits. Ozpin sipped on his short black tea in his nice china cup, taking in everything Glynda was saying. He was about speak when some came crashing through the door. This caught both Ozpin and Glynda off guard, and they both raised their weapons. Then, after a second of realization, Ozpin holstered his weapon and moved towards the distraught student. Ozpin stood in front of Blake Belladonna, who was uncharacteristically scared. Ozpin asked Blake what was wrong, and she simply replied with

_James Blaze has been taken by the White Fang_

Still running through the red forest, heading back to Beacon, James had come up with many questions in his head, but there were four questions that stayed in the back of his mind. Who captured him? Why had they captured him? Had they tortured him and if so, How did they do it? These questions seemed to burn a hole in James' skull. He had been running for what seemed like hours before he left the shade of the trees and entered the beams of day. He slowed to a walking pace when he entered the City of Vale, but everywhere he walked people stared and judge him. James remembered that about his bike and went to the small coffee he was at when he went out with team RWBY. He didn't know how long it had been since that time, but when he arrived at the shop he saw his bike was still there, and there was no parking ticket. This burnt yet another question into his head, Why wasn't there any guards or torturers or anyone around? Had he woken up in such a small gap that no one was around? Not possible, because he knew who had captured him. It had to be the White Fang. Jumping on his bike he noticed the key was still in the ignition, a face palm moment for sure. James drove towards Beacon, but was stopped at the gates. Two guards stood either side of him, searching him up and down.

"Can I see your student or staff I.D please?" Said one of the guards. Damn! James didn't have an I.D on him. He wasn't even wearing his own clothes.  
>"Well you see, I was captured and stripped of all of my possessions. Everything including my student I.D, but you can search my name up. James Blaze." As soon as James said his name the guards looked at each other, then nodded and opened the gates.<br>"Sorry, it's just that a large search party was just out to find you. I mean, no one expected you come back so early." said the other guard, looking amazed. Driving his bike to the nearby parking lot, James quickly hurried inside. He had to see his team.

Dew was, for the first time in his life, having a continuous heart attack. James had been missing for a day now, and no one had caught sight of him since the search teams went out 4 hours ago. Dew, along with Antonio and Melia had to be ordered to stay in their room because if anything bad were to happen James, say if he was found dead or anything, having them get angry and reckless would be a liability. But Dew couldn't stand still. He paced back and forth, as Antonio and Melia quietly played battleship together. Dew knew that like him, Melia and Antonio were anxious, but unlike him they weren't related. Dew knew that nothing too bad could happen to his brother. James was strong, tough and resilient. But it was because of those qualities that made Dew worry. How could he have been capture in the first place? Thinking this over, Dew heard a knock at the door. Dew went to the door but before he could James of all people barged into the room, quickly closing the door behind him. James was in a poor state. He wasn't wearing a shirt, his face was all bloody and beaten up and the scar of which he had been cut by the Pouncing Woods stood out like a sore thumb. Dew was over come with happiness, and went to hug his brother. Instead, James turned to Dew and hugged him, somehow thankful that Dew was alive. Then he hugged Melia, who hugged him back, and Antonio, who just took the hug. James didn't seem right, but Dew didn't think too hard on this. James was just happy to be here, and Dew was too.

Weiss was mad. She didn't want anything to do with this search. She knew that she was being insensitive to Ruby and the others, but Weiss didn't think a large search party was necessary. Weiss had seen the video of team JAMD destroying a pack of 50 Ursas, with James leading the charge. Even if he had been deprived of Dust, Weiss knew he was strong enough to escape from any kind of imprisonment. Weiss had been pretty vocal about her opposition to the search, which was through a forest near the city, but she had forced to go; in case anything got hairy. Arms crossed the whole time, Weiss simply followed her team mates on the searching. Suddenly, she had spotted a small wooden something in the distance, and told her team mates about it. They decided to investigate. They came to the front to find that the wooden building had no doors. However, on the back, Weiss had found a hole that seemed to be made by someone hacking at it. This was enough to convince her that James was being held here, and escaped. He was probably back at Beacon as she spoke. After awhile, the team moved back the central of the search, who told them James was actually back Beacon, alive and well. Weiss gave everyone in her team a smug look. She was right, of course.

Running as fast as she could, Ruby made her way to the dormitories. Weaving in and out of crowds of people, she had one thing on her mind: James. Ruby broke ahead of the rest of her team, due to her semblance, and turned the corner to her room. There, standing in the corridor, was the man she had just spent 4 agonizing hours looking for. She slowed herself down, just in case, and wrapped her arms around James. She had tears in her eyes.

"I... I'm so happy you're here. I... I..." Ruby was just trying to form the courage and words on the spot to say what she wanted to say, but James seemed to understand what she meant, hugging her back. The rest of team RWBY watched on, smiling at the sight.


	7. Chapter 7 - Following the Stray

The next few months were much the same. James was called upon by the scientific community in Vale about the properties and movements of the Pouncing Woods. James told them about the "Apparent" teleporting that the Pouncing Woods would do, saying that it was just a very fast animal; tricking the eye by moving so fast. James told them that he went at the same speed as the beast, and saw that it was in a slow, stalking motion, much like a tiger. He then showed them his scar, a strange thing for a person who could heal any wound with his aura. The scientists gasped at the sight, but also they took notes of the claw marks. Melia and Antonio were getting very close to each other. They even went on a date, which ended up with the two kissing. Dew started to relax and enjoy himself at Beacon, even making some new friends, though these new friends were Jaune and Lei. James went to the library with his team, team RWBY and team JNPR and picked up his favourite book from when he was a child. He sat down at a table with Melia, who was reading a book half the size of James', and then Antonio joined them, reading a comic book.

"_Really Antonio, a comic book?_" James said, putting the back of his book on the table, giving him a disappointed look.  
>"<em>Hey, you can't talk. What you reading<em>?" Antonio said, sounding very out of place and relaxed, much unlike his usual high up self.  
>"<em>A book.<em>" James replied, picking up his book again and reading. Dew came over to the table and dropped a large pile of books on the table, making a large noise.  
>"<em>Hey gang, how's it going?<em>" Dew said, sitting next to James, glancing at his book.  
>"<em>Pretty good, love. I'm finally done cleaning my guns from that Grimm mission.<em>"  
>"<em>What mission? We haven't been given any missions yet.<em>" Antonio said, raising his eyebrow at Melia.  
>"<em>You know, the Emerald forest?<em>" Melia whispered. Antonio almost cracked up laughing.  
>"<em>You mean, like 4 months ago? Why haven't you already done that?<em>" James questioned, smiling.

Melia looked around the table. She could see everyone was almost about to laugh at her for taking such a long time to do something so simple. Melia hated to be laughed at. However, she had learned to live with people almost laughing at her, but so much as a giggle and she begins to break down. Suddenly, not even coming from team JAMD, somebody laughed, and this, combined with the situation she was put in, Melia flipped out. Jumping out of her chair, she knocked the table, causing the pile of books to fall on top Dew, making a large thud noise. This time, everyone looked at Melia, which caused her to freak even more. She then ran, as fast as she could, to get out of their. She ran out of the building and continued running. She didn't stop until her body gave way. When she woke up, she was in her bed back at Beacon. Confused, she raised her head to she her team mates looking sad and sitting in silence. Antonio was the first to realize she was awake, and immediately joined her, kneeling at the side of her bed. His face instantly changed from sadness to happiness. Melia smiled.

"_Hey Melia, how's it going? You feeling alright? Need anything? Water? Food? Cake?_" Antonio was rambling, nervous not to upset her any further than he already had. Melia giggled. It was the first time he had seen her giggle.  
>"<em>I'm fine, Antonio. Though the offer was sweet.<em>" Melia giggled further, "_But cake? really?_" Antonio's face turned red with embarrassment. James and Dew were looking on, choosing to be bystanders rather than involved. That night, Antonio and Melia slept in the same bed.

The next morning, Dew shot up out of his bed. He remembered what day it was today. Quickly getting dressed into his usual clothes, a branded green T-shirt and blue shorts, he went to put on his shoes when he saw them dangling in front of him. James was already up and dressed. Dew snatched his shoes from the tips of James' fingers and tied them up. When he was ready, Dew and James walked out of their room, only to see the rest of his team waiting outside. They got together and their way to the Vytal festival. Dew had never really been to the Vytal festival, mainly because he was a shut in, but also because he had no need. Now he did. Once in town, the group walked over to the docks, where the people from the other countries were coming. The docks weren't the best place ever, but at least you could see them from a safe distance away from the fish smell. Melia and Dew ran straight to the railing, eager to see the ships arriving at the docks, carrying the "competition".

James and Antonio simply walked around and bought some things from the nearby shops. Whilst James was waiting outside of the arts shop whilst Antonio searched around for stuff, he heard the awe struck of a very familiar voice. When James went to look for the voice, he found it coming from a white dressed Weiss. Not wanting to be alone outside, James walked over to team RWBY and surprised them all.

"_Hey girls, hitting the town are we?_" James said, now strolling instead of walking. The girls all turned around.  
>"<em>Hey James!<em>" Ruby yelled, running towards James before jumping onto him. It looked like a child had met their father after years apart.  
>"<em>Hey! What are you doing here? Are you all alone?<em>" Yang said. James walked to the railing, joining up with the rest of Ruby's group.  
>"<em>Nah. I'm here with my team, but their off doing their own thing.<em>" James gestured to the awe struck Dew and Melia and then to the intrigued Antonio, still looking at car parts. "_What are you doing here?_"  
>"<em>Well, the obvious festival going on!<em>" Weiss scoffed, making it sound like everyone should know. Of course, James knew that already, but he actually meant what were they doing their, near the docks.  
>"<em>Weiss, he meant why are near the docks, not why are we in the city.<em>" Blake interjected, completely understanding James.  
>"<em>Well, we are... greeting the foreigners. As representatives of Beacon, it is our unsaid duty to make them feel welcome.<em>" Weiss lied, trying her hardest not to say what she really wanted to do.

Blake told everyone that all Weiss really wanted to do was to spy on the people for the up coming tournament. Weiss said she had no idea what she was talking about. Then, out of nowhere, Ruby noticed a dust shop, though it's windows were broken and there was police tape sectioning off the area. Ruby asked the police officer what happened, and he said another dust robbery, probably White Fang.

"_Hmm, the White Fang._" Weiss scoffed, pointing her noise to the air and closing her eyes. "_What an awful bunch of degenerates._" Blake was taken back. She didn't expect that kind of response from anyone.  
>"<em>What's your problem?<em>" Blake angrily said, catching almost everyone by surprise. James knew that if something like would come up, Blake would react like this. After all, she is a Faunus.  
>"<em><strong>My<strong> problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane._" Weiss said, turning towards Blake.  
>"<em>The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths.<em>" Blake replied, her tone turning serious. "_They're a collection of misguided Faunus._"  
>"<em>Misguided?<em>" Weiss raised an eyebrow at Blake, her face saying something like _Are you serious? _"_They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!_"  
>"<em>So then they're very misguided.<em>" Blake said, somewhat agreeing with Weiss. "_Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale!_" Blake was now not angry, but mad.  
>"<em>Hmm... Blake's got a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy me and James ran into a few months back... Maybe it was him?<em>" Ruby said, looking at James. James nodded. He knew that if he was caught, Ozpin would have told him.  
>Weiss turned her back on everyone. "<em>That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum.<em>" Blake started to growl at Weiss. James knew that Weiss wouldn't say something against Faunus in front of him, because she knew that he was a Faunus and so far she has only said it about those in the White Fang, but what she next surprised even him.  
>"<em>Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal.<em>" Everyone was gob smacked. Weiss looked at everyone angrily before realizing what she said. She turned to James to apologize, but James held his hand out. He was going to let it slide, as a good person would. He didn't hold grudges, not even to those who say nasty things against him. James told Weiss that he forgives her, because everyone says stupid things when they're mad. Weiss thanked James for being so kind, when suddenly a voice broke through the conversation.

"_Hey! Stop that Faunus!_"

Antonio had never seen such high quality parts before. He usually got car parts from his dads old cars, but here they had everything Antonio dreamed of. Steel, stainless steel, titanium, diamond tipped, diamond. And the prices weren't stiff either, making the whole experience a wonderful one. However, though Antonio's family was rich, Antonio wasn't. He was dead broke. This was because he didn't need money on him, but he left his wallet with his credit card at Beacon, and now he couldn't buy any of these lovely parts. Sadly, Antonio walked out of the shop, heading towards James when a Faunus with a monkey tail crashed into him. Antonio laid on the ground as the Faunus got up and ran away, followed closely by team RWBY. James walked over, slightly confused by Antonio's lack of getting up. Antonio wanted to say that he couldn't get up, but he couldn't do that either. Antonio waited until he could get up, and then accompanied James to Dew and Melia, who were more or less pleased with their endeavor. They all made their way back to Beacon, and when they arrived at their room, the only people who they could hear were Blake and Weiss. James decided to go and see what the arguing was all about. When he entered the room, Ruby and Yang greeted him, and the three of them stood near the door, watching the argument between Weiss and Blake.

"_I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!_" Weiss told Blake, continuing the tennis match of words.  
>"<em>That is the problem!<em>" Blake yelled.  
>Weiss got up from her bed. "<em>You realize that you are defending an organization that hates humanity, right? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!<em>" Weiss yelled back. Ruby and Yang looked at James, trying to survey his emotions. James simply looked, not showing any emotions. He wanted to see how this would escalate.  
>Blake got to her feet. "<em>There is no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!<em>" Blake's voice was full of rage, and James could see her slipping up anytime soon. James had known she was a Faunus, even before she revealed it to him, but after hearing her strong defense of them, he had already concluded that she was, at one stage, a member of the cult. Just as James had once been.  
>"<em>People like me?<em>" Weiss said, looking like she had just been insulted.  
>"<em>You're discriminatory!<em>"  
>"<em>I'm a victim!"<em>

Weiss poured her past out. She talked about her family's company being the target of the White Fang for as long as she could remember. She told the group about how her cousins and family friends would just one day "disappear" and never come back. Ruby went to comfort Weiss, but she flicked her hand away, yelling "_No!_" Ruby staggered back, and James wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her. He didn't want Weiss to get any worse than what she already was.  
>"<em>You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!<em>"  
>"<em>Well maybe <strong>we<strong> were just tired of being pushed around!_" Blake hastily blurted out, accidentally admitting to being a White Fang member.

Blake noticed what she had said, and reacting on impulse, she ran away. Running as fast as she could, Blake kept running until she had arrived at the statue in the middle of the Beacon plaza, depicting two hunters standing triumphant over a Beowolf. Blake reached for her bow, untying it and letting her cat ears out. James looked on from the shadows, waiting for something to happen. James had gotten there fast all because of his Semblance; the ability to temporarily take another persons Semblance, and taking Ruby's super speed to get here. Then suddenly, the stowaway Faunus appeared from the shadows.

"_I knew you would look better without the bow._"


	8. Chapter 8 - Black, White and Green

Sitting at a balcony cafe, James was sipping on warm cup of coffee, his back to Blake and Sun. They hadn't noticed James because James was already there, sitting and drinking his coffee. James had parked his motorbike outside the nearby cafe, just as a precaution, to force Blake to come to this cafe. This cafe was a lot more compact, so James could get a table close enough to hear them talk. Dew had texted James after he left for the night, following Blake and Sun, and asked him where he was. James had told him not to tell anyone but he was following Blake, and that he should tell everyone not to worry. Dew had done just that. James was good at stalking people, from his previous experience with the White Fang; He was the messenger. But he wasn't so good that the person he was stalking was only 5 meters away and they didn't notice him. After finally finishing his coffee, James placed on the table and sat back. Suddenly, Blake spoke.

"_So, you want to know more about me._" Blake placed her cup on the table, still holding it.  
>"<em>Finally, she speaks! Nearly two days and you gave me nothing but small talk and weird looks!<em>" Blake gave Sun a stern look. "_Yeah, like that._"  
>Blake rolled her eyes and then looking sad said "<em>Sun, have you ever heard of the White Fang?<em>"  
>"<em>Of course I have! I don't think there's a single Faunus alive on the planet who hasn't heard of them!<em>" Sun continued, not properly reading the situation. "_Stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get whatever they want. Bunch of freaks, if you ask me!_"  
>Blake sipped her tea and put it down. "<em>I was once a member of the White Fang.<em>" Sun choked on his drink, wiping his mouth. He was shocked.  
>Putting his hand up, trying to swallow the information given to him. "<em>Wait a minute, You were a member of the White Fang?!<em>"  
>James tilted his chair back, leaning it against their table. "<em>Weren't we all?"<em>

The only person to be surprised by James' sudden appearance was Blake, who had seen James in her room when she left. She slightly freaked out, but James reassured her that no one else knew. Sun gave Blake a confused look, as he had known that James was following them for a long time. After a minute of calming down, Blake told her story of how she was a member of the White Fang. She the two about the history of the White Fang, which they both knew, but also about her personal involvement with the group. Sun asked if she had told any of her friends about this, and Blake pointed to James, who actually hadn't heard the story before now, but that didn't matter. She hadn't told her team about it.

"_Blake!_"

Ruby called at the top her lungs. She had been searching for her for about 10 hours now, calling her name and asking strangers if they had seen her. No one said they had. Yang also called Blake at the top of her lungs, just as concerned as Ruby was for Blake's safety. Weiss, on the hand, wasn't. She was walking around with them, helping them search, but her arms were crossed and she was still angry about how she didn't tell them about who she was. She compared her secret about being in the White Fang to James' secret about being Faunus. James had been open and accepting of his heritage. Blake had hid the fact. Melia, Antonio and Dew tagged along, also helping in any way they could.

"_Blaaaaaaaake! Where aaaare yoooouuuu!?_" Ruby called out, in the hopes she would respond. It was an empty hope, but it was hope all the same.  
>"<em>Blake!<em>" Yang also called out. Weiss still refused to help.  
>"Weiiiiss,<em> you're not helping!<em>" Ruby turned to Weiss. Weiss wasn't planning on helping.  
>"<em>Oh! You know who might be able to help? The police!<em>" Weiss replied, a her tone making it sound like it was the obvious choice.  
>"<em>Weiss, come on!<em>" Melia called out, standing next to her team mates, who were trailing behind Team RWBY, each one person down.  
>"<em>It was just an idea, Melia!<em>" Weiss defensively replied.  
>"<em>Yeah, a really crappy one.<em>" Antonio didn't like it how Weiss was so not understanding of Blake's situation. Antonio had to be understanding of others, because he kept a big secret with him.  
>"<em>Weiss, I think we should hear Blake's side of the story before we jump to any conclusions.<em>" Yang said, trying to get Weiss to reason with her.  
>"<em>I think that when we hear it, you'll all realize I was right!<em>" Weiss wan't going to reason with her.  
>"<em>And I think that Weiss hair looks wonderful today!<em>" Penny said, coming out nowhere. Melia, Antonio and Dew all jumped back, along with Ruby, Yang and Weiss, everyone confused as to how Penny got into the middle of the group, let alone behind Weiss without anyone noticing her.  
>"<em>Aaaah! Penny! Where did you come from?!<em>"

Before anyone could realize, Melia, Antonio and Dew slipped away from Ruby, Yang, Weiss and Penny, and continued to search for Blake. Antonio, being the designated leader of the group when James is away, lead his friends all around the city, calling out Blake's name and trying to see if anyone had seen her. They discussed their positions on the whole situation and they all had the same position: The only way to judge and make a conclusion, they would have to hear Blake out. After establishing that, they agreed to stop shouting her name, as it was getting them no where. So instead, they walked around, carefully scouring the city for any signs of her. When they were just about to give up, a loud explosion bellowed through Vale, reaching them. Dew asked where it came from, and Antonio said it came from the docks. They quickly made their way there.

James jumped down from the roof of where he was scouting the docks with Blake and Sun, to help them out. Roman Torchwick, the man they were after, caught Blake by surprise by firing his cane at the ground, stunning Blake. When James hit the ground, Roman looked at him and laughed.

"_Hey! Fiery dude! To what do I owe the pleasure?_" Roman pointed his cane James, not taking any chances. Suddenly a banana peel landed on his face. Roman looked up and Sun landed on his face, jumping off and landing perfectly.  
>"<em>Leave her alone!<em>" Sun yelled at Roman, who was now not amused. A loud noise is heard, and Roman turns his head as a Bullhead lands and White Fang members poured out the back. Roman turns his head back.  
>"<em>You're not the brightest banana in the bunch are you?<em>" The White Fang members all target Sun, who skillfully dodged each attack and took out all of them. Grumpy, Roman ducks as one of his men fly over his head. Grumbling, Roman fires his cane at Sun, who defends himself from the blast as best he could. James took this opportunity to start charging at Roman, heading to take him down. Just before he was about to charge his gloves with some fire Dust, Blake jumps out, cutting him off.  
>"<em>He's<em> mine!" Blake yelled, also heading for Roman.

Blake attacked Roman, becoming a flurry of after-images, slashing both of her blades at Roman, but Roman deflects every single blow with his cane. Even with his deflecting of the blows, Roman manages to land a few hits in and ultimately knocks Blake to the ground. Then, without rest, Sun comes in his cane, but he snaps it in two and it becomes a nun-chuck with guns on the end. Spinning his nun-chuck and firing everything he's got, Roman yet again blocks every shot and blow. However a millisecond long pause, allows Blake to get a slice in, cutting Roman and pushing him back. James was right behind Roman, but he hid his aura instead of attacking, respecting Blake's wish a bit to much. This allows Roman to find a shipping container suspended by a cane, and fires his cane to dislodge it, making it fall on Blake and Sun. On a roof top, Ruby appears, ready for battle.

"_Hey!_" Ruby called out to Roman, which manages to catch his attention.  
>"<em>Well, hello Red! Isn't it past your bed time?<em>" Roman smugly yelled back.

Penny joined Ruby, asking her something. James' ears weren't that good. Ruby then said something to Penny, throwing her arm in front of her. Roman shot his cane, hitting Ruby square on, knocking her out of sight. Penny then went on the offence. So did James. Switching from Fire to Rock, James unleashed a powerful Hay-maker straight into Roman's back, making a large "Thwack" sound, pushing him forwards. Turning around to defend himself from further attacks, Roman raised his cane to block a second punch from James, but when his fist connected, James vanished. Using Blake's Semblance to make clones, James stomped his foot into Roman's left knee from the back, causing him to kneel. Using this to James' advantage, James pulled a trick that he hadn't used since he was a White Fang member, mainly because he put the person in intensive care. Getting a good run up, James jumped and turned sideways, contracting his legs to his chest, and when he was in the perfect spot, extended his legs, kicking Roman in the back of the head with both of his legs. This knocked Roman forwards, smashing his face into the ground. James was about to finish him off when the explosion of a Bullhead distracted him long enough for Roman to get away safely into a Bullhead, and fly off.

Running into an almost literal wall of White Fang members, Melia, Dew and Antonio decided to split up, take on one group at a time. The three separated, each person drawing their weapons. Melia engaged the group directly in front of her. Pulling her pistols out, she used her Semblance to focus and, almost like a machine, select each person and how many times to shot them. Taking into account her bullet count, she could defeat all but one of them, with two bullets left to spare. Coming out of her Semblance, a barrage of bullets flew from her gun, killing the first 10 White Fang. Then letting go her guns, she grabs two mags from her pockets and dislodges the empty ones in her guns, switching them. Grabbing her pistols again, she empties the second lot of bullets into the remaining enemies. left with two bullets left, Melia walked over the lone survivor, who was on the ground trembling with fear. Melia grabbed him by the chin and raised his head, pointing her pistol at his face. He was crying in fear.

"_Who do you work for?_" Melia sounded calm, almost frighteningly so.  
>"<em>I-I don't know his n-name. We w-were just told to d-do as h-he said.<em>" The man shakily forced out.  
>"<em>What does he look like?<em>"  
>"<em>He has orange hair... and he wears a-a black b-bowler hat.<em>" The man calmed a bit after Melia took the gun out of his face. She pulled back and walked away from the man, causing him exhale in relief. Melia held her gun out behind her and shot the guy in the head.

Antonio took the group on the left. He did this because it had the least amount of people in it. Pulling out his sword, Frystsvard, Antonio swung it horizontal in front of him, not striking anyone. In the direction of which Antonio swung, a whip-like ice stream slammed and sliced the White Fang members charging Antonio. The ones who got hit flew backwards into a stack of nearby shipping containers, denting them. Snapping the ice back into his sword like a whip, Antonio grabbed the handle with both hands and attacked the remaining members. Though they could attack Antonio fast, Antonio could block and attack faster. Striking with smooth movements and brilliant strokes, the group of 20 quickly became a group of 1. The remaining one got up off the ground and hurried away from Antonio, scared as hell. Antonio stuck his sword into the ground, causing a large ice spike to shoot out of the ground and struck the last man in the head.

Dew attacked the group to the right, which had the most members. Pulling his shovel out, he blocked every attack that came his way from 40 different people. Once he had enough time to switch from Shovel to rocket launcher, he fired a shot at the ground. The explosion propelled the men backwards, with only Dew still standing in the middle. As each person got up, they ran back to Dew, waving their swords in the air. Dew stabbed the shovel in the stomach of the people who charged from the front, and then when those from the back finally caught up, he turned around, using the back of his shovel to smack the first person, and then proceed to stab the rest. it took 30 seconds for the 30 others to be defeated.

**10 MINUTES LATER**

James, Antonio, Dew, Melia, Ruby, Blake and Sun were all seated on wooden crates, waiting to be questioned by the authorities. James told his team about how he trailed Blake and Sun, and also how he was able to do so. They were a bit angry at him, but they got over it. He didn't do anything wrong. Besides from that, James talked to Ruby and Blake, who were both trying to over come the whole event. Then Weiss and Yang arrived, and to everyone's surprise, Weiss forgave Blake for not telling her about being a Faunus. Team JAMD watched on as the team got back together and became trusting friends once again. Melia seemed to look sad, almost looking guilty about something. James would have written this off as her thinking she was weak for not getting there earlier, but Antonio was looking the same. James would've put Antonio under the same thought process as Melia, but Dew didn't look like them. Something was wrong. Before James could bring it up with them, Blake called him over to talk. James went to Blake, who was sitting with her group.

"_Hello ladies. Is everything resolved?_" James asked, sitting down.  
><em>"Yeah, everything's fine now. Though I didn't think it would end like this...<em>" Ruby replied, trailing off.  
>"<em>Oh yeah, and how did you think it would end?<em>" Yang asked, turning her body towards her sister.  
>"<em>Well, Weiss forgiving Blake was a shocker.<em>" Ruby bluntly said. Weiss gasped.  
>"<em>W-What! Am I that cold?<em>" Weiss asked, oblivious to her ways.  
>"<em>Yeah, you are.<em>" Blake responded.  
>"<em>Hey, that I won't forgive!<em>" Weiss yelled, causing everyone to laugh.  
>"<em>Blake, why did you call me over here. It wasn't for this, was it?<em>" James said, still skeptical about being called over. Blake nodded.  
>"<em>I wanted to ask you about what you said when you made yourself known. You said "Weren't we all?" when I told Sun about how I was in the White Fang. What did you mean?<em>" Blake asked, catching James off guard. He had completely forgotten about that. James looked at the other people in the group, their eyes fixated on him. James didn't like lying. It made him feel dirty and bad, so he told the truth.  
>"<em>My mother, when I was young, joined the White Fang after seeing the mistreatment of Faunus during a giant building project. Every single Faunus in the area were being taken and forced to do hard labor. During this time when my mother was away, I would bug my dad about where she was and what she doing and if she was safe. I did this much he one day snapped and beat me half to death. He then ran away, leaving a note on the table saying where my mother was and what she was doing. I was 10 at the time<em>." James could his father beating him in his mind, so James closed his eyes and shock his head, shaking the memory from his mind. "_I went to the White Fang and joined up. Not because I cared about the White Fang cause but just to see my mother. That's when I first went into a blind rage, killing many people. My mother was there to stop me. Then, when I was 15, she was killed by a high up official of the White Fang as demonstration of the new way of the White Fang. I left shortly after. I joined up again 1 year later, after I had a fight with my new parents. At that time, I was under the guidance of Ozpin, and as soon as I joined, he knew about it. I left after 3 days._" James finished with a shrug of his shoulders. He didn't know why he joined or left. Everyone was quiet for the rest of the night.


	9. Chapter 9 - Food fight!

The second term holidays are over, and the members of team JAMD are returning from different parts of the globe.  
>-Antonio visited his father up in Atlas, where the company HQ is located. He had given many gifts upon his return home, mainly from his mother, as his father was normally too busy with work. However, his father had taken him out to dinner then a movie, which wasn't much compared to the other things given to him, but the thought and meaning behind it made it the most valuable thing he received. Next to his new combat armor his father made for him. Well, it wasn't made by his father alone, or at all. It was made the companies best mechanics and engineers, but his father had commissioned it. It looked like something out of Warhammer 40K. Antonio thought it was awesome.<p>

-Melia visited her mother's cottage in the outskirts of Vale, in a forest that Melia never cared to remember the name to. Melia had arranged for her mother's care taker, a young woman by the name of Barbara, to take time off, so Melia could take of her mother herself. Melia's mother had been brutal beaten by her father when Melia was only young. She never knew her father, as he was never home and her mother never talked about him. Whilst there, Melia told her mother about Antonio and how wonderful and charming he was. Melia's mother had asked her if he knew, and Melia said no. No one knew about Melia's little secret.

-Dew went back home. He was greeted by his mother who apologized for her reckless behavior the day he left. Dew had accepted the apology and they had a cake she had baked. Dew returned to his shut in ways, even drinking 4 2 liter bottles everyday of his favourite drink, "_Everyone loves Mountains_" soda. The entire time he was there his mother asked if he had gotten any news about James' whereabouts, because he was meant to accompany Dew here, because of Dew's panic attacks when he isn't around. When Dew left the house for Beacon once again, his mother told him how proud she was that Dew could send more than 1 day away from James without having a breakdown. Dew said it was due to James.

-James had visited the grave site of his father and mother. His father's grave read "Richard Ziegler - R.I.P" and his mother's read "Esther Ashan - R.I.P". James never had the money to give his parents a proper burial. He only had just enough money to buy grave stones to mark where they lie. James would only come here when he was said, scared, confused, happy and angry. But the first day of his holiday, he was there to remember. The good times, the bad times and the extremely bad times. He also remembered how they died. James' mother had been killed as an example of those who didn't follow the new White Fang way. James' dad committed suicide 2 years later by hanging himself, putting James in the care of Dew's parents. The rest of the time James spent in his old house in the abandoned Mountain Glen extension of Vale. He felt truly at home there.

Dropping his lunch tray on the table, Antonio sat down at the table where his team was. They were sitting next to team RWBY and across from team JNPR. Antonio sat next to Melia, who gave him a hug. Antonio hugged her back. The group people chatted as they ate, sometimes throwing food at each other. Then suddenly a large bang came from the end of the table, and when Antonio looked over there, he saw a giant binder titled "Best day ever activities", and a proud looking Ruby standing behind it. Antonio could only guess what Ruby had in store for her team. And James. Ruby stood and cleared her throat, getting the attention of everyone sitting at the table.

"_Sisters... Friends... Weiss._"  
>"<em>Hey!<em>" Weiss cried.  
>"<em>Four score and 7 minutes ago, I had dream.<em>" Ruby declared quite promptly. Yang sighed.  
>"<em>This ought to be good.<em>"  
>"<em>A dream that one day, the four of us will come together, as a team, and have the most fun anyone has had... ever!<em>" Ruby jumped at the end, excited at the thought.  
>James called out. "<em>I think you got your speeches mixed up!<em>" Everyone ignored James, as if he never spoke.  
>"<em>Did you steal my binder?<em>" Weiss asked, confused.  
>Ruby made a peace sign with both hands. "<em>I am not a crook.<em>"

Since the conversation wasn't aimed at them, team JAMD talked among themselves, telling each other where they had been. When Antonio said he got his new battle armor, everyone wanted to see it. However, he didn't have it with him at Beacon, because their room was cramped enough as it was. Dew said he stayed at home, which caused James to look at him with a disappointed expression. James had been the only person who didn't tell Dew to stop doing things like, but after Dew finally adapted to Beacon, he didn't like that Dew went back to his old ways. When Melia said where she had been, she accidentally let out the part where her mother asked her about her "Secret". Everyone, especially Antonio, wanted to know what it was, but Melia said it had something involving her father, and that it would solved soon. She panic on the inside, almost having a heart attack. James was about to say where he had been, but a surprising squish noise came from the RWBY end again, but this time, Weiss had been hit in the face with a pie. James sat perfectly still, as if a snake was about to strike him. Dew ducked his head under the table, protecting from the inevitable outburst. Melia buried her head into Antonio's arm, as if she was a young child needing the comfort of her father. Antonio acted the part, stroking her short white hair. Suddenly, someone called out the two words that would define the entire day.

_"Food Fight!"_

Team JNPR fortified themselves behind a stack of tables taller than James, who was 6 foot 4. Nora stood atop the pile, her hands on her hips, triumphantly singing "_I'm the queen of the castle! I'm the queen of the castle!_" It was a gang war. Team JNPR vs team RWBY. A spectacle to most, as these two teams had both placed second and third respectively in the first year team skills test. What most people, including Ruby and Nora, who were both in a leading position for the fight, didn't think was that the first place team would be so low as to get into a food fight. However, team JAMD stood still whilst all other people ran away. They were ready. James needed to get his troops morale up, and the only way he knew how was through speech.

"team JAMD, our lunch break has been interrupted by these... these savages! And I for one do not take kindly to having my lunch interrupted." James paced up and down the three man army, who were standing in a line, heads straight and hands behind their backs.  
>"So!" James turned around and stood facing both opposing teams. "To win today, we will become death, the destroyer of worlds, to bring down the opposition!" He turned around and faced his soldiers. "My men, are you with me!" which was followed by a large war scream from his team. Ruby stamped her foot on a table and pointed towards the middle of the room, addressing both parties.<br>"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" Which caused her team to pound their fists in the air.  
>"Off with their heads!" Nora called out, getting team JNPR to attack.<p>

Antonio quickly grabbed the only thing he could find that match a sword. A baguette. Unfortunately, others had the exact same idea. Clashing bread sticks with Jaune, Antonio chops his make shift at Jaune, who surprisingly blocks each one. Then, using his brute, Antonio cleaves Jaune's Baguette in half, sending Jaune flying back. Then a tumbling Blake knocks Antonio over, allowing Pyrrha to jump him and get a few blows in. Antonio, now on his back, held both ends of the bread to block Pyrrha's strikes, and still holding it with both hands, pushes her off of him, Pyrrha rolling back to find more Baguettes. She hurls three at Yang and one at Ruby, who deflects it and lands on Pyrrha, knocking her down. Antonio then notices Blake behind him and he spins around, swiping the ground with his Baguette, trying to sweep Blake's legs. Blake jumps over the swipe, which is exactly what Antonio wanted. Using a powerful swing, he spins around fast enough for Blake to still be in the air, unable to block the attack. Crashing the baguette into her side, he sent Blake flying into a pile of chairs and tables, knocking multiple of them into the air.

Dew grabbed a few nearby unopened soda cans and shook them up. running as fast as he could, he headed for a defenseless Nora, who didn't seem to have a weapon. Suddenly, she finds a pole impaled in a melon, and uses it as a hammer. Dew didn't stop running, but he definitely didn't feel as confident as he once did. He saw Nora take down Ruby and slam Weiss through multiple pillars, and he realized he had to do something a bit more drastic. Strapping a small amount of dynamite that he had in his pocket (Dew had explosives on him at all times), Dew threw the soda at Nora, hitting her in the back of the head. Before she react, the can exploded, releasing a spray of sticky juice and gunpowder. Nora flew forwards, crashing to the ground on her face. Dew knew this wasn't enough to bring Nora down, and he was right. Nora stood up and let out a loud roar, charging at Dew. Dew threw the remaining cans he had Nora, turning her a rainbow of sticky juices, but she didn't stop coming. Dew looked around him and didn't see anything he could use. Then James called out to Dew, and threw him a shaken up bottle of "_Everyone loves mountains_", which Dew knew was the most fizziest drink on sale. He threw the bottle to the ground, the cap hitting the ground and exploding, taking off like a rocket. Straight for Nora. Nora stopped moving and raised her watermelon hammer above her head and slammed the bottle rocket in the ground, causing a gigantic explosion of soda. Dew covered his eyes as the spray wave hit him. When he opened his eyes, he only saw a rounded green shape smack him in the chin, launching him backwards into the wall.

James was tired of dodging Yang's turkey punches, and decided to tilt the battle in his favor. Matching Yang's movements, he punched her turkey hand his his opposite hand and pulling back, stealing the turkey from Yang. Looking down at her exposed hand, Yang looked up in awe of James.  
>"<em>How did you do that!<em>" Yang said, acting like James was some kind of magician.  
>"Actually, I'm surprised that even James replied, before jabbing Yang right in the side of her face. Stumbling from the surprise jab, Yang tried to block James' incoming attacks with her turkey hand, but it didn't work. A large amount of turkey sprayed in Yang's face as her last turkey was destroyed by James. Then, using his one hand, James jabbed Yang in the stomach three times, then jumped up, putting his hand on Yang's shoulder and cobra punched her, sending her crashing into the ground. James stopped to catch his breath, but he was denied the chance to do so as Ren attacked him with leeks. James was going to uppercut him, but Ren got the better of him, hitting him with fast strikes that stunned James. Shaking it off, James went for a very hopeful stomach jab, and it connected well, causing Ren to stumble back. Then, getting into a running start position, he lunged forward, running as hard as he could at Ren, and when he was close enough, he exploded the turkey into Ren's face, launching him to a spiral flight.<p>

Dodging Blake's continues strikes, Melia waited for her opportunity to take Blake's weapon. Blake swung down her bread stick, and Melia clapped both her hands on the side, grabbing it and ripping out of her hand. Catching her off guard, Melia struck Blake on the top of her head, snapping it two. Grabbing the second half, Melia used her innate skill with dual weapons to out skill Blake, causing her run away from Melia. Melia wouldn't allow her to get away, but suddenly all the cans started to levitate, and Melia realized what situation she was in. She looked over to her left to find Pyrrha using her Semblance, which scared Melia, as Polarity is very useful. Seeing the cans fly backwards a little made Melia stand her ground, unable to fully avoid the attack. She would have to block it. As soon as the cans flew forward, Melia used her own Semblance to slow down time and plan her moves, focusing on the ones that would hit her. "Marking" them, she released her Semblance, ready to block. Melia the two break sticks in her hands, making them look helicopter blades, not letting anything through without first slicing them to pieces. Smacking the cans out of her path, Melia kept spinning her bread sticks to ensure she wasn't knocked on the head. Unfortunately for Blake, she copped a flying can to the forehead, knocking her out. Melia winched. Not realizing that cans stopped flying her, Melia continued to spin her bread sticks. She only stopped when a somewhat time Antonio and James came over and manually stopped her. She saw that nothing big was happening, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Ruby readying for a rush. Not knowing what she was doing, she called out to Dew, who was closest to Ruby to be careful. Before he could turn around, Ruby launched at light speed, creating a sonic wave in her wake. It kicked up everything not fused with the ground. Melia first tables, chairs, food, Dew and all assortments of junk fling across the room, before Melia herself was flung. Crashing into the wall at the back of the room, she indented herself in the wall and waited there for 10 seconds. She needed a rest. Finally, she lightly pushed herself off the wall, falling to the ground below. She looked around her to find the members of JNPR and Dew lying next to her, but she didn't the other two members of her team. Confused but tired to get up or call out she waited. Maybe something would happen? Suddenly, a red blur hit the wall, followed by a yellow, white and black blur that crashed equally as hard into the wall as Melia, marking the wall. RWBY had been finished off by James and Antonio. Melia heard the sound of Ms. Goodwitch enter the room, and Melia then realized she was being lifted off the ground. She felt both relieved and scared. Ms. Goodwitch was not one to tolerate almost any kind of bad behavior, and this took the cake.


	10. Chapter 10 - Planning an attack

Sitting in class and learning stuff from teachers was the most boring part of any day for everyone in JAMD. Dew hated it. Melia didn't mind it, but definitely enjoyed not doing much more. Antonio never listened or cared about class, but he somehow got top of the class. James, on the other hand, loved only class. History. History had always enticed him, learning about the past and drawing upon this information to prevent situations like them. Or replicate them. But what got James really excited was learning about war. Luckily, his teacher enjoyed talking about war as much as James liked hearing about it. His teacher, Bartholomew Oobleck, spent the lesson telling the class about less historical things, but still they involved interesting and in the past, so James listened to it all.

"During_ archaeological digs only ten years ago, we found the remains of old Vale, the main village that become our great city today. Inscribed on a piece of paper was a tale of an immortal being that, when killed, would come back as a different person, and would only ever remember their past selves from a special place in Mountain Glenn, deep underground. This legend also included the names of the past, the then present and the future. Some historical figures believed to immortals, as it was written on the paper were..._" James got distracted by annoying Cardin, who flicked a piece of paper at James. James hated how Cardin would distract him from his work and education, but James would normally let him be. He wasn't worth the effort after Jaune was done with him. But today was different. James felt like he needed to know everything there was about this scroll and ancient village. Knowing that James could, he ignited his eyeballs, causing them to rupture with flames. Cardin almost pissed himself. James blinked, extinguishing the flames, and paying attention to his teacher.  
>"<em>And the last known name written was Yereq Ashan.<em>"

Ruby had asked James if he wanted to play Remnant: The game with her and her team, but he said that he had a lot of work to get done before tomorrow. However, he did promise her that he would play later on, which was sweet of him. Ruby really liked James and she was certain that he liked her, but neither of them did anything about it. It made Ruby slightly mad thinking about. Entering the library, Ruby sat a table and looked across the room to see James with his face in a book, his hands writing as he read. Sitting next to him was Dew, who was also reading, though it didn't like an educational book. James looked like he didn't even know that dew was next to him he was so engrossed in his books. Ruby wanted to go over to James and talk to him like she used to, but Yang had forced to sit down to play the game. She shook her head and focused on the game, as she didn't want to seem distant like Blake had been lately. Ruby guessed she was thinking about the incident involving the White Fang. However, like Blake, James had been in the White Fang and he didn't seem to be distraught like Blake, but then she remembered the reason why James joined. He wasn't emotionally attached to it as Blake was.

Hearing the loud clap of a book closing, Dew looked next to him to find a very happy looking James. Dew knew James liked books and history and old stuff, but the smile James gave off was going a bit too far.

"_Good book?_" Dew asked, turning to his brother. James placed the book on the table in front of him and turned to Dew.  
>"<em>Well, as good as the past gets. Why do you ask?<em>" James said, his voice conveying a totally different story to his face.  
>"<em>You look like a child in a candy store.<em>" Dew replied. James quickly wiped the grin off his face, returning to his usual look.  
>"<em>Hey gang.<em>" Antonio pulled up a chair next to James, making a loud noise. Antonio looked worried for some reason. Dew didn't notice the worry on his face, but James did.  
>"<em>Antonio, what's wrong? You seem unnaturally on edge today.<em>" It was midday when James entered the library, and he had been reading for only thirty minutes when Antonio joined them.  
>"<em>N-Nothing's wrong James. Everything is totally fine.<em>" Antonio gave the weakest reassuring smile James and Dew had ever seen. James would have said something if a Beacon guard hadn't approached them. He turned to James and addressed only him.  
>"<em>James Blaze, please come with me for some questioning regarding your endeavor at the docks. <em>" He was formal and quick, probably because everyone was watching him, whispering things that he couldn't hear. James looked like he could punched the guy out, but he mellowed out and followed the man to a dark questioning room.

Sitting in the dark room, he was reminded of the time he first met Ruby, and the questioning that came after that. However, unlike that night, James wouldn't expect to be talking to Ozpin. A Headmaster never did these types of things. Also, James knew that James Ironwood, a headmaster and military leader up in Atlas, was coming to visit because of the Vytal festival. James had heard of him before from Ozpin himself, and they actually good friends, but he only heard about his visit from Antonio. The Atlas military was the biggest customer of Escobar Enterprise due their large fleet of ships and robotic soldiers. Antonio had mentioned it to the team in the morning, after receiving a message from his father. Antonio had to meet with Ironwood on behalf of the company. The door opened to a flood of light only blocked by a figure in the doorway. James smiled as the door closed and he could see who it was. It was Ozpin.

"_What the hell? Ozpin! What are you doing here?_" James raised his arms in the air, as if Ozpin had just said something offensive. Ozpin smiled back.  
>"<em>Well James, I heard that you were getting questioned and I just had to step in and do it myself.<em>"  
>"<em>Alright then, fire away. What questions have you got for me Ozzy.<em>" Like always, James got the same old _Don't me call that_ from Ozpin.  
>"<em>We have been led to believe that you were present during the incident at the docks recently. Is this correct?<em>" Ozpin pulled out a note pad and pen, ready to jot down anything James said. James looked confused.  
><em>"<em>_A pen and pad? What is this, an interrogation? _"  
>"<em>Well, unlike the first time you were in this situation, I have to do an actual report on our discussion.<em>" Ozpin didn't change expressions, still ready to write what James said.  
>"<em>Answering your question, I was there alright. In fact, I put a serious pounding on that Torchwick guy. Smashed his face straight into the concrete.<em>" James sounded proud about that fact. Ozpin simply wrote on his piece of paper. Then, looking up, he asked James another question.  
>"<em>Now James, why were you there in the first place? I know that you could have just been there because of somewhat vendetta against White Fang for robbing the Dust stores, but I also know that you aren't that connected.<em>" Ozpin was reading James like a semi-open book. James retorted.  
>"<em>You do know that I have Dew?<em>" Whilst Dew is a shut-in, he is one of those people who know anyone for anything. Even giant Dust hauling operations. Ozpin gave James a look that can only be described as _really?_  
>"<em>But yeah, I didn't do it because I hate those thieving pricks. I did it mainly because I was trailing Blake Belladonna of RWBY.<em>" Sensing Ozpin would say something like _Why did you follow her? _James saved him the trouble.  
>"<em>You see, that night Blake and Weiss were having a fight with each other about the White Fang, and Blake accidentally said "We" when addressing the White Fang. It pretty much shocked everyone but me, because earlier on last term she showed me that she was a Faunus.<em>" James stopped to assess Ozpin's reaction, but he didn't give one. James put two and two together and figured this was why he was so good at poker. James continued.  
>"<em>So when she ran away, I guessed she would run to the statue outside the dorms. Borrowing Ruby's Semblance, I made it there before she had. From then on I trailed Blake and her new friend Sun for the remainder of the time she was "Missing". But if you want to know why she did what she did, ask her.<em>" James upturned his palms, gesturing that he was done. Ozpin wasn't quite done.  
>"<em>Hmm... Last question James, but why didn't you take more force when attacking Torchwick? I know your a real advocate for overkill, so why hold back then?<em>" Jame s let the question resonate with him for a bit before answering. He hadn't thought of that.  
><em>"<em>_Torchwick is a criminal, no doubt about that. But whilst he affected me indirectly, he hadn't attacked me personally._"  
>"<em>He did attack Ruby. Isn't that personal? You are a couple.<em>" James squinted his eyes at Ozpin, unimpressed with his conclusion. James stood up.  
>"<em>First off, we are not a couple. Not yet at least. Secondly, He would have to kill someone who I care about to get my overkill.<em>" James felt himself go red with anger, so he calmed himself down and sat back in his chair. Ozpin stood up and made his way to the door, tucking away his pen and pad. When he reached the door, he stopped and turned around, a smile on his face.  
>"<em>I suggest you make your move on Ruby, James. You two seem like promising students, and more promising lovers.<em>"  
>Watching Ozpin walk out, James sat in the steel chair for a few more seconds, before getting up and walking away. On his way back to the library to collect his stuff, James passed Melia, who was walking in the opposite direction. When James asked her where she was going, she simply pointed, and kept walking. She was next.<p>

Joining the RWY part of team RWBY back to their dorm, James was filled in on the game that he missed. Apparently, they let Neptune play and got their butts kicked. James really regrets not playing with them, but he did get to do some great research on old Vale. Walking into the dorm, Blake was already in the room, sitting down on her bed. Yang voiced her distaste for letting Neptune play. Ruby commented on it and Blake made her way to the door. Weiss turned around.

"_Stop. Lately, you have been antisocial and moody!_"  
>"<em>Uh, have you met Blake?<em>" Yang commented. Weiss turned to Yang, though still addressing Blake.  
>"<em>Which I get is your thing, but you have been doing it more than usual! Which, quite frankly, is unacceptable! You made a promise to me, to all of us, that you would let us know if something was wrong!<em>" Weiss paused, before continuing.  
>"<em>So, Blake Belladonna, What is wrong!<em>" Weiss flipped through the air before landing on a chair, leaning it precariously near Blake. Then, as fast as she did that, she returned the chair and stood with James, Ruby and Yang, who all had their jaws hitting the floor. James was clapping at the performance.  
>"<em>I just, I don't understand how you can be so calm.<em>" Blake talked into the ground, before looking at James.  
>"<em>You're still thinking about Torchwick?<em>" Ruby interjected, cutting James off from saying anything. Ruby looked at James, who mouthed thank you to her. James would've started an argument then and there.  
>"<em>Torchwick, the White Fang, everything! I'm surprised James isn't acting the same way!<em>" Now everyone was looking at James, who had his calm, cool look on.  
>"<em>Well, I guess I can move on from these kinds of things. I never really was invested as you were, Blake, so I don't get angry about it.<em>" James could sense the anger in Blake at his reply, so trying to smooth things out, he said, "_But I guess beyond the personal stuff, I am like you. I can't stand that no one is doing anything. I wish we could do something about it!_" James could sense the agreement in Blake with that.  
>"<em>Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the Huntsmen, I'm sure they can handle it.<em>" Yang said, directing to both James and Blake.  
>"<em>Well, I'm not!<em> _They don't know the White Fang like I do. Like WE do!_" Blake gestured to James, who simply nodded in agreement.  
>"<em>Adding in the human factor, I think if the White Fang were off the rails, they're now so far off them that they are on another track.<em>" James inputted.  
>"W<em>ell, between blowing up night clubs, stopping thieves, fighting for freedom and...<em>" Weiss tilted her head towards James, looking for what he did that was big and noteworthy.  
>"<em>Injuring half of the White Fang members in Vale.<em>" James bluntly said, not caring to make it sound anymore grand than it already was. Seeing the confusion on Weiss' face, James added, "_6 years ago_."  
>"<em>And that, I'm sure the four of you think you're all ready to go out and apprehend these ne'er-do-wells!<em>" Weiss' tone sounded like she was going to bring round a "voice of reason" speech.  
>"<em>Ah, who?<em>"  
>"<em>The bad guys, Ruby.<em>" James answered, getting an "oh" from Ruby.  
>"<em>But let me be the voice of reason. We're students! We're not ready to handle this kind of situation!<em>"  
>"<em>Well, yeah, but...<em>" James tried to come up with a reason that they could take on the syndicate. Besides himself, he couldn't argue with Weiss.  
>"<em>We're not ready!<em>"  
>"<em>And we may never be ready! Our enemies aren't just going to sit around and wait for graduation day.<em>" Blake pointed towards the door. "_They're out there, somewhere, planning their next move, and none of us know what it is, but it's coming! Whether we're ready or not!_" Blake now had everyone pumped up for some action. Even James was ready to punch someone. Ruby was the most effected of all, bounding with energy.  
>"<em>Okay, all in favor of becoming the youngest Huntresses to single-handedly taking down a corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale... say aye.<em>"  
>"<em>Erhm.<em>" James cleared his throat as loud as he could.  
>"<em>Oh, right. Huntresses and Huntsman. Sorry.<em>" James couldn't tell if Ruby had apologized so cutely on purpose or by habit, but whatever it was, he liked it. Maybe he should make his move. Yang pumps her fists in the air.  
>"<em>Yes! I love it when your feisty!<em>"  
>"<em>Well, I suppose it could be fun.<em>" James simply gave Weiss a disappointed look. She went through an entire speech, just to concede like that. Everyone went silent, awaiting James to say something.  
>"<em>James? Are you in?<em>" Ruby gave James the cutest look he had ever seen, and his mind had been set. Punching his left palm, holding his right fist, James smiled.  
>"<em>If I get to fight people with you guys, sure. I'm in. But...<em>" James walked over to the door and opened it, allowing his team mates to spill into the room.  
>"<em>Are you guys in?<em>" James said standing over them, his arms crossed and eyebrow raised. He got a simultaneous thumbs up from the three of them.


	11. Chapter 11 - CCT

The next day, everyone got up and got dressed. Melia wore slightly different clothes than what she usually wore. A Camouflage tank top with a pair of black cargo pants, a mirror of her Camouflage pants and black Kevlar vest that she would always wear. James wore a jacket with no shirt underneath, a decision that he made out of desperation, as his only good shirt was ripped in the middle. He also wore a white pair of jeans and black belt instead of his typical black jeans and white belt. Dew had completely changed his outfit, opting for a thick red padded suit and long, grey pants, a very different look from his usual outfit of the Beacon uniform. Antonio had kept to his normal attire, a business shirt with the top button undone and his tie slightly loss. His pants were generic long pants. Everyone checked that their weapons still worked: Melia flicked her laser knives out of her twin guns. Antonio changed his sword to a multitude of different things, one of which being a guitar being comprised entirely of ice. Dew manically flipped the switch on the side of launcher, changing it from rocket launcher to shovel as fast as he could, making sure that it could withstand such high speeds of transformation. James simply pulled his MMA weighted gloves and pocketed a single crystal of each dust type, just in case. Antonio called across the room to James.

"_James, out of everyone here, your weapon is, how do I put it, the least weapon like._"  
>"<em>Combine them with Dust and some fighting experience and they make very good weapons. Besides, it's not like I can use my bare fists with the Dust.<em>"  
><em>"Well not? Wouldn't that give the greatest damage output?<em>" Melia asked, fully dressed and ready, standing next to Antonio. Dew answered for James.  
>"<em>Prolonged exposure gives some very bad effects.<em>"  
>"<em>Like what?<em>" Antonio and Melia said simultaneously.  
>"<em>Third degree burns. Electrocution. Liquefaction. Sublimation.<em>" Dew said, pointing to each Dust which corresponded to the effect it has on skin. Fire=Burns, Lightning=Electrocution, Ice=Liquefaction and Air=Sublimation. Whilst James himself hadn't had these things happen to him, as he had always been told to fuse the Dust with an object and not himself, he had heard of people who had lost hands and arms doing such things. He would not run the risk, unless the risk meant something of importance.

After a few classes, all members from team RWBY and JAMD meet in RWBY's room and set out to outline a plan for the day. After a few minutes of arguing and bickering, it was decided that Ruby, Weiss and Antonio were to go to the Cross Continental Transmit tower, or CCT for short, in Vale and go over both Schnee Dust Company and Escobar Enterprises files to search for any robberies or strange dealings. Then, after a only a few sentences, it was decided that Blake and James go to a White Fang meeting going down in an abandoned warehouse near the docks. Yang then suggested that she go see a person who is "well-informed". She also suggested that Dew come along, which caused a bit of commotion but ultimately ended the way it started. James even gave Dew permission to drive Topp-Dogg, which caused Dew to along with this plan. Melia was the panic button of the plan. She would stay at Beacon and if any teacher or student, especially team JNPR, got suspicious that she would smooth things out. If unable to do that, she would call everyone and get them back there as soon as possible. Then, appearing at the window was Sun who, along with his teammate Neptune, wanted to join the search. No one disagreed to the with the idea, but no one out right said it was a good idea.

"_Well, you know what they say, The more the merrier!_"

* * *

><p><strong>AT THE CCT TOWER<strong>

As Antonio, Weiss and Ruby approached the CCT, Ruby ran ahead and marveled at the tower.

"_Wooow! I forget how big the Transmit tower looks up close up!_" Ruby yelled at the two just behind her, walking at their normal pace. Weiss and Antonio gave each other an acknowledging look as Weiss said,  
>"<em>You should see the one in<em> Atlas!"  
>"<em>It's pretty amazing.<em>" Antonio added.  
>"<em>The one in Atlas was the first, right?<em>" Ruby asked, turning around to face the ice duo.  
>"<em>Correct<em>" Antonio and Weiss said at the same time.  
>They continued towards the tower. Ruby continued to gawk as Antonio and Weiss began to spout off some information about the CCT.<br>"_Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the great war_." Weiss relayed to the group, though mainly to Ruby as Antonio already knew all about this stuff, coming from Atlas.  
>"<em>The last 3 were Built in by Escobar Enterprises, as the first was constructed by the Atlas government.<em>" Antonio added.  
>"<em>Oooh, Look at us! We're Antonio and Weiss! We know all the facts! We're rich!<em>" Ruby mocked, acting like she was high and mighty. Antonio laughed at Ruby's performance, whilst Weiss took it a bit to much to heart.  
>"<em>Don't be a pest! Besides, the only reason we're here is because you like the tower so much! We could have just as easily made a call from the library!<em>"  
>"<em>Well, No.<em>" Antonio interjected. Weiss raised an eyebrow.  
>"<em>What do you mean?<em>"  
>"<em>Escobar Enterprises have a very... cautious safety system. You can only make calls to Head quarters if you are at a CCT tower.<em>"  
>"<em>OK then. Well let's stop dilly dallying and get a move on!<em>"  
>"<em>Wait! Can I take a photo of the tower first?<em>" Ruby was excited and she couldn't stand still. Antonio could see why James liked her so much.  
>"<em>Alright, but don't take too long.<em>" Antonio called out, already at the front door to the tower. Turning around to see Ruby take the picture, he saw he Ruby drop her Scroll. It bounced off the pavement and landed at the feet of a person walking by. In fact, Ruby seemed to know this person, running up to her and greeting her. But Antonio also knew this person, and he quickly entered the building as fast as he could, so as to not get seen by her. Today wasn't the day Antonio wanted his secret revealed.

Walking into the Grand, glowing lobby of the tower, Antonio walked straight past the central terminal and walked into the elevator, the doors shutting behind him. Turning around to face the door, Antonio was greeted by a CCT AI voice projected from a panel next to the doors.

"_Hello! Welcome to CCT! How may I help you?_" The AI voice sounded extremely friendly and kind, which made it all the more annoying when Antonio had heard that same phrase and voice all around the world.  
>"<em>The communications room, please.<em>" Antonio didn't let the annoyance in his heart affect his voice, which he then realized was really stupid of him because it was an AI. It didn't have feelings.  
>"<em>Absolutely. Could you please place your Scroll on the terminal to verify your identity?" <em>Antonio did as he was instructed, placing his Scroll on the terminal.  
>"<em>Perfect! Thank you, Mr. Escobar.<em>"

After ten seconds, a high pitch _Ding!_ was heard and the doors slide open to reveal a large room with computers lining every desk and glass windows lining every window. Antonio stepped out of the elevator and saw Weiss moving over to a nearby terminal. Antonio walked up to the desk where an AI hologram was sitting down, seemingly going over notes. She only looked up as Antonio came within a few feet of the desk.

"_Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Transmit center. How may I help you?_" The AI Said, politely greeting Antonio.  
>"<em>I need to make a call to Escobar Enterprise Headquarters in Atlas.<em>" Antonio replied, already getting ready to move off to an assigned terminal.  
>"<em>Alright then! One second... Clearance level and password please.<em>" Antonio was caught off guard and a little bit confused until he remembered that ever since 2 years ago, making calls to the Headquarters was an executive thing only.  
>"<em>Of course, how silly of me. My Clearance level is 10 and the password is 61815192013152118145<em>" Antonio hated the password, because it meant memorizing a long number, but compared to other people, he could do this easily. Other executives only had to say a word and the voice recognition would get them in.  
>"<em>Great! Now, could you please head over to terminal 4. I'll patch you through as soon as possible.<em>" Antonio thanked the hologram and made his way over to the terminal labeled "4". Sitting down, he looked over to his left and saw Weiss, stilling talking to whomever she was speaking too. Moving his back to face the screen, he waited until the screen flashed to life and his fathers receptionist answered.

"_Hello, Mr. Antonio, How are you today?_" The woman talking was Antonio's father's receptionist, a woman named Margret who looked like every single other receptionist ever, but Margret was different. How she was, Antonio couldn't put his finger on it, but it was something. Smiling back at the short haired brunette, Antonio conveyed his intentions.  
><em>"<em>_Hello Margret, I'm fine thank you. I was actually here to request some files, if that's all_ right?"  
>"<em>Certainly. Do you have a list?<em>" Margret seemed to be unusually helpful, as Margret had always been very ridged without a direct order from his father. Sending the list he complied on his Scroll, Antonio sat back and watched as Margret's eyes lit up with surprise.  
>"<em>Um... Antonio, there is some pretty confidential stuff on here. I'm not sure if I am allowed to give you these.<em>" This was more like the Margret Antonio knew. However, something felt wrong, and Antonio knew it from the moment Margret agreed to giving Antonio the files.  
>"<em>Well, I know that, so why don't you ask Dad there to have a look at<em> them?" Margret looked surprised and a bit disappointed, most likely at her failure to keep the presence of Antonio's father from him. Entering the screen was Antonio's father, the C.E.O of Escobar Enterprises. He looked overly happy.  
>"<em>Hello, Antonio. It hasn't been too long since you were last here.<em>" Antonio's father's eyes moved from left to right, reading what was on the list Antonio sent him. After about thirty seconds, his father looked at him through the camera and showed his unusually happy face again.  
>"<em>Well, I'm not sure why you need these files, but you can have them if you want.<em>"  
>"<em>Great!<em>" And with that the files arrived on Antonio's Scroll. The three said goodbye to each other, and Antonio stood up to leave. Realizing the distinct lack of Weiss and Ruby, Antonio looked around the communications room and leaving only after he decided that they had left him behind.

* * *

><p><strong>SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY OF VALE<strong>

Antonio remembered that a demonstration of the new Atlas designed "_Atlesian Knight-200_" and "_ Atlesian Paladin_" robots that where manufactured by Escobar Enterprises. Making his way there, wanting to see the crowd reaction to the unveiling, Antonio began to wonder where Ruby had gone. He had seen her run up to "_that_" girl, but that was all he knew. _Maybe they had gone out together?_ Antonio didn't know. Upon arriving the venue, Antonio was impressed with the turn out. A hologram of James Ironwood was talking about the old model AK-130, another robot designed by Atlas and manufactured by Escobar Enterprises, when he finally got to the newer models. Antonio was more surprised that he made it in time for the actual unveiling rather than the fact that he had just seen Ruby and "_her_" across the crowd. Antonio focused on the two girls, just as a safety measure to not lose them again. He looked on as Ruby hunched her back and dangled her arms in awe of the Paladin design and function. Antonio also liked the machine, as it looked bad ass.

Then, the woman Antonio tried to avoid naming but inevitably had to start calling Penny moved off, which Antonio then saw was due to two Atlesian guards walking after her. Antonio knew he had to chase them as the guards were, but unlike them, Antonio had a chance of catching up to them. Bending down and leaping over the crowd, landing with a considerable bang, Antonio dug his feet into the ground and broke out into a full on sprint. Catching up to the guards within seconds, they came to a crossing. Ruby and Penny managed to get over to the other side fine, but when the guards just ahead of Antonio got there, they were met with a honking car. Having no time to stop, Antonio simply cleared the car with one jump and kept chasing. just behind the two, Ruby cut the support of a wooden beam, causing an avalanche of wooden crates to block the path ahead of Penny. Ruby then proceed to jump of a wall and grab Penny as she landed. Antonio guessed that Ruby only saw a glimpse of Antonio, because after that she began to run away from him with Penny in hand.

Still chasing them, Antonio was only a few feet behind them when Ruby tripped over and skidded out onto a road. Antonio stopped running and stood still, seeing if Ruby was OK. She didn't seem to be, as she only got up very slowly, most likely dazed. Then Antonio heard the honk of a truck, heading straight for Ruby. Before Antonio could do anything, Penny ran out, pushing Ruby out of the way and stopping the truck, with an explosion of concrete and road as the aftermath. Penny turned to Ruby and looked down at her hands. Antonio ran up to Penny, standing next to her. Looking down at her hands, Antonio could see were the artificial skin had been ripped off, exposing the metal skeleton underneath. Antonio looked back up at Ruby, who was now in front of Penny, confronting her about the event that just took place. Antonio looked around him, seeing the slow guards finally catching up to them. Exhaling, Antonio looked at the driver of the truck, the old man from the robbery. That's when Antonio saw smoke._  
><em>

Antonio carefully approached the truck, asking the driver to exit the vehicle, or what was left of it.  
>"<em>Sir, this truck wouldn't happen to be running off of a Dust engine, would it?<em>" The look that the man gave Antonio unsettled him. Then a confirming nod gave Antonio all the reason to be freaked out. If an engine running on Dust, especially a Fire Dust engine, are extremely prone to explode after high impact collisions, causing more deaths each year on the road than the crashes themselves. Sensing he didn't have much time to react, he told the old man to get out of the way, and he told people to back off from the truck. However, unbeknownst to him, Penny and Ruby were still on the road, behind him. Turning to see the engine, it was moving faster towards explosion than he thought. Feeling like he had done all he could, Antonio walked to the other side of the street, to get to a safe distance. However, he walked into Penny and Ruby, who were still trying to get over the fact that Penny wasn't human.

"_Penny! Ruby! What are you doing here!_" Antonio was furious, but he needed to get these two to safety.  
>"<em>What do you mean, Antonio?<em>" Ruby was clueless to what was going to happen. Antonio turned around and saw the hot red engine melting and bits of small pieces already flying off. Suddenly, the engine finally exploded. It created a large explosion that would have killed anyone in side of it, and luckily no one was in it, except for Penny, Ruby and Antonio. Antonio, at the moment the engine exploded, threw himself on top Ruby, shielding her from the blast. After the whole event was over, people watched on, gasps on their faces. Ruby had been dazed by the weight of Antonio and when she opened her eyes, she only saw Antonio's face.

"_Antonio? Are you, Ngh, alright._" Antonio didn't say anything, but he did move. Stretching out his arms to prop himself above Ruby, Antonio tell that he wasn't normal, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe it was the loud, mechanical clunking sound coming from his back. Moving his arm to touch his back, his hand slipped into the space that once was his back, landing on a series of mechanical bits and pieces. Standing up, Antonio shook all of the loose parts out of his exposed parts. Ruby looked on in horror as the metal came out of Antonio. Not only was her friend Penny a robot, but so was a classmate. Antonio didn't say anything and walked away from the scene as two Atlas officers appear from the crowd. Antonio pulled out his Scroll, only to throw it on the ground immediately afterwards, mumbling:

"_Another good damn one_"


	12. Chapter 12 - Revelation

**SOME SECRET PLACE IN VALE**

Arriving just behind Yang and Neptune, Dew pulled up and Parked Topp Dogg just behind Yang's bike, and stepped off. Taking off his brother's helmet, Dew watched as Yang took off her's, and for some reason Dew really liked the way she did it. Shaking his head, Dew moved up and joined the two.

"_Come on, My friend's right in here!_" Dew looked to his left and saw a dingy looking entrance to a pumping beat. Ever since Dew's last job, he never wanted to go to any dingy looking place ever. Or go on any trains.  
>"<em>And where exactly is here?<em>" Neptune asked, but his answer was delayed as Yang entered the entrance.  
>Motioning for Yang to take the lead, Dew and Neptune walked behind her, giving each other nervous looks. In front of them, a guard at the door to the actual club saw them, but he didn't try to stop to them. Running inside the club, he screamed out:<br>"_Shut the door! She's coming!_" The guard's shouting only seemed to fall onto 2 other guards, who then went about frantically closing the door. As soon as the door was closed, the guards quickly moved away from the door and watched, expecting something bad to happen. Faintly, multiple voices penetrated the door and reached the ears of the guards and henchmen, even over the pumping music.  
>"<em>Oh damn it! They closed the door.<em>" This voice seemed to sound like a female. Everyone in the club shivered as they heard it.  
>"<em>Neptune, open the door with your gun.<em>" This voice sounded different, it wasn't someone they knew.  
>"<em>Uh, My gun isn't really built for busting down doors. Why can't Yang do it?<em>" A third voice, though not menacing, gave the most discomfort to the henchmen.  
>"<em>But... But...<em>" It almost sounded like Yang was crying, which not one of the guards or henchmen bought. The music still played on.  
>"<em>Alright, I'll do it. Stand back would ya.<em>" The second person spoke again.  
>"<em>A shovel? What are you going to do with a... Oh, OK. I understand. I'll move back then.<em>" Something big was coming. The music dropped out. Then, almost like it was timed with the music, a large explosion of both music and fire shot the club. The music then stopped playing. Yang moved forward, standing still as the smoke cleared, both hands on her hip.  
>"<em>Guess who's back!<em>" As the smoke fully cleared, Yang was joined by Dew on her left, holding the top of his rocket launcher with his right hand, angling the body of the weapon diagonally down his back. Neptune simply stood to Yang's right with his jaw hitting the floor, impressed with Dew's skills. Recovering from the shock, he saw that almost everyone in the club was pointing a gun at them. Neptune walked up to Yang.  
>"<em>Yeah, so could you define "Friend" for me?" <em>As soon as Neptune said this, a man from the behind the crowd yelled out to the henchmen and guards.  
>"<em>Stop, stop! No one shot!<em>" The man walked from the back to the front, whilst at the same time straightening his red tie.  
>"<em>Blonde, You're here! ...Why?<em>"  
>"<em>You still owe me a drink.<em>" Yang leaned in and put her face almost touching that of the club owner, a man by the of Hei "Junior" Xiong.  
>"<em>And what if I say no?<em>" Junior gave Yang a smug grin, motioning towards the circle of henchmen holding guns to their heads. Dew stepped up and pointed the multi-barreled rocket launcher just as close to Junior's face, making him regret his choice of words.  
>"<em>I see your point.<em>"

* * *

><p><strong>SOME OTHER SECRET PLACE IN VALE<br>**

Blake looked around the corner as Sun and James converse about the many things people can talk about. Turning back, Blake confirms:  
>"<em>This is it.<em>" Sun looked at her with a confused look.  
>"<em>Are you sure?<em>" Sun looked at James, who was removed something from his eyes, then at Blake, who was loosening her bow around her cat-like ears.  
>"<em>Y'Know, I'm just gonna take your word for it.<em>" Sun looked over at James again, and saw the lizard like pupils that sat in the middle of his eyes. It scared Sun.

The three of them walked over to the recruiting guy standing outside, who simply glanced at the three Faunus and handed them a white mask.  
>"<em>New Recruits stick to the right.<em>" Sun looked down at the mask, noting:  
>"<em>I don't get it. If you believe what you're doing is right, why hide who you are?<em>" James looked over at Sun, remembering he wasn't apart of the White Fang.  
>"<em>The masks are a symbol. Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters.<em>"  
>"<em>An evil symbol for an evil organisation. It all fits.<em>" James replied, causing him to a nasty look from Blake.  
>"<em>But Grimm masks... That's kind of dark.<em>" James simply nodded his head in approval.  
>"<em>So was the man who started it.<em>" James again nodded his head. Sun turned to Blake.  
>"<em>Always sunshine and rainbows with you two...<em>"

Walking inside the warehouse, a large crowd had already gathered. James, Sun and Blake stood with the new recruits, half listening to the conversations of those around them and the conversations of people not near them. James was more interested with the types of Faunus showing up to these kinds of events, and what he found didn't really surprise him. All kinds of Faunus surrounded him, not enough of one kind to be able to single out. However, one group of Faunus he couldn't find were the Reptilian Faunus, the Faunus characterized by their reptilian features. James was a part of this kind, though unlike most, James only had the tongue, teeth and eyes, whilst others had the whole kit, including scaly skin, a tail and claw. Facing the front again, James realized that there was a stage in front of him, with a large object covered in a cloth, almost like at the unveiling of a statue. Looking across at Blake and Sun, Sun was looking around like James, but Blake was starring at Sun. She looked down slightly and caught eye contact with James, breaking her concentration and causing her to blush. James simply rose an eyebrow. Then, the crowd went silent and a voice projected from the stage. A big, buff White Fang member stood upon the stage, about to give a speech. He had a tattoo running down the side of his left arm. He seemed to be a high up member of the White Fang.

"_Thank you all for coming. For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours! I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for for so long!_" The man on the stage addressed the rest of the people in the room. Gesturing for a person to walk out, someone very familiar appeared, walking as swankily as usual. However, the crowd seemed to give him a hard time. Booing and the occasional profanity roared across the room, all aimed at Torchwick. However, he seemed to relish in the fact.  
>"<em>Thank you, Thank you!<em>" A woman appeared from the cloth covering the object. She had brown, pink and white hair and she wore a very fitting pink, brown and white attire. James looked across at Blake, who also had the same idea, and they exchanged worried looks. She could be someone troublesome. Finishing his initial parade around the stage, an antlered Faunus standing right next to the trio called out to the room and Roman.  
>"<em>What's a <strong>human<strong> doing here?!_" Roman acknowledged this person's comment over everyone else's.  
>"<em>I'm glad you asked, "Deerie"! Now, I'll be the first to admit, humans... are the worst.<em>" Roman pointed himself as the example.  
>"<em>Case in point. So, I understand why you would like to see us all locked away, or, better yet, <em>killed<em>!_" James leaned over to Blake and Sun.  
>"<em>I don't like where he going with this.<em>" Sun leaned in as he listened to James.  
>"<em>What Do Ya mean?<em>" Sun looked confused, probably because he didn't know how extreme the White Fang were.  
>"<em>Watch closely. The crowd will change their opinion very soon.<em>" This time, Blake leaned in and commented.  
>"<em>James, are you sure you were in the White Fang? Even if Roman says things like this, they won't start to like him<em>_._" Roman walked to a spot on the stage and stopped, ready to continue his talk.  
>"<em><em>But<em>, before the claws come out, I'd like to mention the fact that you and I _all_ have a_ _common enemy: the ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty, rotten humans that run our kingdoms!_" The chatter changed from negative to somewhat positive in a matter of seconds, leaving Blake and Sun in complete surprise.  
>"<em>Government, military, even the schools: they're all to blame for your lot in life!<em>" The crowd now breaks out into a cheer, praising Roman for his ideals. Roman just stood on stage, absorbing the claps and cheers. Sun, Blake and James all shared worrying looks, each one of them understanding where this was going.  
>"<em>And they're all <em>pests<em> that need to be dealt with! Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around... No offense to any rodents in the room._" Snapping his fingers, the cloth that sat upon the object fell off, revealing a mechanical beast, something that seemed out of place in a room of grassroots insurgents. James couldn't shake the feeling that this was somehow Atlesian made. Along with James, Blake and Sun looked at the machine, gobsmacked. Sun gulped.  
>"<em>That's a big robot.<em>" Blake snapped out of her surprised look and went into a more thought-filled trance.  
>"<em>How did he get that?<em>" Roman strolled over to the robot, pointing his cane at it.  
>"<em>As some of you might have heard, this right here...<em>" Roman tapped his cane on the side of the robot.  
>"<em>...is Atlas' newest defense against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my "employer", we've managed to snag a few before they, uh, "hit the shelves". Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay within the city, that's fine... But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I can provide you. Any questions?<em>" Roman didn't get any questions, but rather he got a roaring applause, as if a rock act had just been done and the fans were asking for an encore. Blake turned to Sun and James, her face extremely serious.  
>"<em>We should get out of here.<em>" The three begin to walk out, but were interrupted when the high up White Fang member called out for all new recruits. The line surged forward, blocking the trio from leaving, only allowing them to follow the flow. Out of the three, Sun looked the most concerned.

"_Welp!_"

* * *

><p><strong>BACK AT THE CLUB<strong>

Placing his glass on the bar, Junior sat down behind it, still across from Yang and her crazy guard dog constantly holding a rocket launch to his face. Swiping the giant black square end of the launcher, Junior looked back at his blonde interrogator.  
>"<em>I don't<em> know!" Junior's face looked desperate, as they had been at this for a while now.  
>"<em>How can you not know?<em>" Yang's face was equally extreme, expect she was angry at the fact that Junior knew nothing much about it.  
>"<em>I haven't talked to him! I haven't even <em>seen<em> him since the night you first came in here._" Junior leaned over the bar and pointed in Yang's face. "_He paid up front, I lent him my men, and none of them ever. Came. Back._" Neptune ran to Yang's side, wanting to ask a question of his own.  
>"<em>So where did they go?<em>" Neptune thought the question was clever and might give some answers, but he was met with only disappointing looks. After a long pause, Junior finally said what everyone in the room was thinking.  
>"<em>What kind of stupid question is that? They never came<em> back!" Junior looked over at Dew, who was yet again holding the barrel of the launcher at Junior's head height. Junior forcefully swatted the square out of his face again.  
>"<em>Would you stop that!<em>" Dew lowered the launcher and changed it back to a shovel, clipping it to the side of his pants. Junior looked over to Yang, trying to get some sense out of her._  
>"Who are these guys?<em>" Yang gave Junior a dismissive wave.  
>"<em>Don't worry about them; Worry about ME.<em>" Junior swallowed hard. "_if I don't find out what I want!_"  
>"<em>I already told you everything! Torchwick hired my boys, and I guess he wasn't happy with them, which is <em>something I can relate<em>_ _to!_" Junior called the last part out to a passing guard, who went off grumbling under his breath. Yang turned around in her chair and stood up.  
>"<em>Dew, Neptune, let's go.<em>" Like a pair of obedient dogs, the two stood up and followed Yang out. Dew ran up next to her.  
>"<em>Did we get everything we need?<em>" Yang sighed and closed her eyes.  
>"<em>We got everything we could. I just hope the rest of the group had better luck than us.<em>"

* * *

><p><strong>NEAR "RICHARD &amp; SMITH MECHANICAL AND ELECTRONIC PARTS" STORE<strong>

Antonio knew that shambling like a zombie shouldn't be hard; The dead can even do it. But for Antonio, he was finding it hard to move his legs at all. Hobbling in front of the store, Antonio's legs finally gave out, giving him an excuse to start crawling. The large CLANK sound he made must have alerted the store owners, two men by the name of Richard, A.K.A Dick, and his brother Smith, as they came running outside, curious to what made the noise. Upon seeing Antonio in a shambled mess down his backside, they offered to help him inside, but Antonio was now in efficiency mode, stating that the time it would take for them to pick him up and haul him inside would take too long. So, crawling his inside, he made his way to the back of the store, near the storage door. Seeing a blinking red light appear before him, telling Antonio that his back up batteries were at 5% percent capacity, he knew that he had to get help from the outside. Looking above him, the two store owners looked down on him, not with heavy, angry eyes, but light, worried eyes. Antonio addressed the two as if he was a secret agent on a mission.

"_Dick, Smith, I need you to get me something._" The two men exchanged looks, and they both nodded at each other.  
>"<em>What ya need, buddy?<em>" Smith was a burly man, and the best at mechanical building and repairs. His arms were covered with bright yellow hairs, something his head lacked. But what his head lacked, his face made up for it. A full mustache and beard, Smith was the definition of manly.  
>"<em>Really, anything at all, Antonio.<em>" Dick was a lot more shy and timid, with scrawny arms and legs, and literally no hair anywhere but his head. He was, however, the smartest man Antonio knew, as he was the Electronically part of the duo. He also had the smoothest talking skills, even when it came to women. Antonio looked at the men, and he knew he was able to ask this of them.  
>"<em>I need the Mourne bot.<em>" The looks on the men's faces did not change, surprising even Antonio.

The Mourne bot was the secret battle robot that was being worked on for Antonio. It was ten times as durable and twice as light as the body Antonio had on now. The exterior was also the greatest thing he had ever seen. Having the components of a normal suit of armor: big metal shoulder pads, metal gauntlets, metal gloves, a metal chest piece, metal thigh pads, metal knee caps, metal shin pads and metal boots. However, unlike every other bland suits of armor, this one stood out. Its shoulder pads were in the shape of a skull, the middle of the chest piece and the knee caps had skulls on them. In fact, Antonio described the armor to being the "_embodiment of death frozen over._" and also "_An undead king of a frozen throne; A lich king._" With the body came the ability to activate a special weapon within Antonio's Frystsvard, code-name: F.M. The sword is extremely powerful, being four times as sharp as Antonio's normal Claymore and three times as dense, but the same weight.

Without hesitation, Antonio's "brain", a small processing chip, was removed from his damaged body. In this limbo state of not being alive nor dead, Antonio had to trust his friends. Smith, being the brawn of the team, moved the Mourne bot from storage to the backroom, where Dick fitted the chip into the back of the head. booting up the suit, the once lifeless body burst into life, letting out a tremendous roar. Antonio was alive. Thanking his two friends, Antonio walked out of the store and onto the road, where a call that meant to be sent to his Scroll was project. It was Blake.  
>"<em>Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back-<em>" Then the voice of what could only be Sun screamed out in the background.  
>"<em>HEEEELLLP!<em>"

Antonio felt the power of the Mourne bot flow through his body, and at last he had gotten a hold of what he had always wanted to try. Clenching his fist, he proclaimed to himself:

"_Now, We are one!_"


	13. Chapter 13 - Painting the town Red

**3 MINUTES BEFOREHAND**

"_What are we going to do?!_" Sun whispered to his partners, who both looked deep in thought. James didn't react to the comment, still holding his hand on his chin. Blake did.  
>"<em>I'm thinking...<em>" Blake continued to shuffle forwards along with James, who was now looking down at his gloved hands, seemingly weighing something up in his mind. Sun nervously looked over at Roman, who was now leaning the robot, smoking a cigar and taking to the weirdly colored woman. The two of them laugh at something, and when Roman opened his eyes, they laid themselves squarely on Sun. Roman stopped smiling and frowned. Not knowing what to do, Sun smiled and waved back. He leaned over to Blake, as James looked to preoccupied staring at the ground.  
>"<em>He sees us...<em>" Blake had luckily spotted a junction box on the wall, and a thought popped into her head.  
>"<em>He can't see in the dark.<em>" With that, Blake pulled out her Gambol Shroud, transformed it into a pistol and shot the junction box, causing it explode. The room went pitch black in no time at all, which must have caused James to snap back to reality, as he responded to Blake's decision.  
>"<em>That's true Blake, but you know we are in a room filled to the brim with people who can.<em>" James couldn't see Blake's face, but he imagined it to be a very angry face. Roman, responding quite slowly called out:  
><em>"<em>_Don't let them get away!_" Blake and Sun knew that this was the time to get out, and so taking the lead, Blake came up with a way to get out. Spotting a window nearby, Blake called out:  
>"<em>Quick, the window!<em>" Sun and Blake quickly made their way to and through the window, with Roman yet again spouting commands.  
>"<em>Get them!<em>" James stayed back and waited for anyone to notice him. It took no time at all. A hand landed on James' shoulder, and James knew what to do next.

Ducking, James avoided the blade that was being swung at his head, causing it to go into another White Fang member. Reacting speedily, James grabbed the man behind him and chucked him across the room, taking out ten or so Faunus along with him. Then, a much larger hand landed on James. Twisting out of the hold, James followed through with a flaming fist, aiming for the giant man behind him. James recognized him as the high up White Fang man, who James had come to calling the "Lieutenant". This White Fang Lieutenant dodged the punch, ducking underneath it. However, James didn't let this stop him from causing damage, so unleashing the fire energy built up in his fist, he blew up half of the warehouse, taking with it most of the enemies. The lieutenant got up, dazed from the explosion, and looked behind him, surprised to see half of the room was now gone. Turning back around, he copped a left jab of fire to the face, this punch exploding like the last. Then, out of the corner of his eye, James saw the Paladin robot running on the road, chasing after Blake and Sun. Sighing in amused disappointment, James looted all the Dust from the pockets of the bodies lying around. After gathering sufficient Dust, James followed the large footprints of the Atlesian Paladin.

* * *

><p><strong>OUTSIDE THE "CLUB"<strong>

Kicking the bike into life, Dew sat on the purring machine as Yang and Neptune listened to a Scroll-call from Blake and Sun needing assistance.  
>"<em>That Torchwick guy is in it! But not, like, it didn't eat him; he's, like, controlling it or something!<em>" Sun yelled into the Scroll presumably being held by Blake. Yang leaned her head closer to the Scroll.  
>"<em>Where are you guys?<em>" Dew heard the sound of crashing on the nearby road, and immediately afterwards, Sun and Blake, followed behind by a giant robot being controlled by Roman Torchwick. Sun yelled out at the top of his lungs:  
>"<em>HURRYYY!<em>" The three watching on were stunned and amazed at the fact that they were so close.  
>"<em>I think that was them.<em>" Neptune said to Yang, expecting her to already be doing something. Yang revved her engine and kicked it forwards.  
>"<em>Yeah, I got it.<em>" Dew also revved his engine and shot forward on Topp Dogg, closely following the chase. Dew couldn't wait for the foreseeable battle ahead. He hadn't had a good fight in forever.

* * *

><p><strong>ON THE HIGHWAY<strong>

Catching up to the hulking machine, the three motorcyclists catch a glimpse of Blake and Sun jumping off the side of the highway. Yang pulled ahead of Dew, with Neptune holding on for dear life. Dew continued to watch on as Neptune and Sun make some sort of headway with the fight, until Neptune is sent flying into an airborne Sun, and they both ping off out of sight. Dew stopped the motorcycle, swinging the back round so that it was facing mostly sideways. Felling a tap on his shoulder, Dew turned around and saw James was standing next him. Dew didn't know when or how he got there, but he didn't care. Dew had grown used to James appearing and disappearing without any noise.

"_How goes it, brother? Get any information?_" Dew looked at James with innocent eyes. James pointed to the robot on ice in front of them.  
>"<em>That's our information right there.<em>" As soon as James said that, the sound of hard footsteps and heavy breathing caused the two brothers to look around and see their missing team member from today, Melia. She seemed to have ran all the way from Beacon to get there.  
>"<em>Hey *huff* How's it *huff* going?<em>" Even though Melia was in peak condition, she was completely out of breath. James put his hand on her shoulder, staring ahead. Melia looked up at James, and then looked at where he was looking, and nothing was happening.  
>"<em>Um... James? You OK?<em>" Melia caught a glimpse of James' eyes and saw that his pupils where ellipses, like a reptile.  
>"<em>Just watch. I can predict that something bad is going to happen.<em>" Dew also looked ahead, and still nothing happened. Then, a large group of screams came from where the battle against the Paladin was taking place, and 4 girls, red, white, black and yellow all went soaring into the air, one after the other. James' face lighted up. He was right.

Following the two boys ahead of her, Melia drew her guns, ready for anything. When they dropped down, they found the situation to be a lot worse than they originally thought. Not only was there a giant man controlled robot, but a humanoid one as well. This other bot was covered with a suit of armor riddled with skulls and it just spelled death. Melia looked to the side and saw the four girls of team RWBY all on the ground, injured from this surprise attack. James headed for the girls, signaling for Dew and her to go forward and stall. Melia rushed forward, and stopping before the humanoid bot could do anything, she used her Semblance to slow down time. Mentally targeting what seemed like weak spots in the armor, Melia spun her guns around in her hands and unleashed the barrage of bullets upon the knight. After the last bullet hit, the bot was in rough shape. Even though this was the case, it still ran forward at Melia, it's sword drawn at it's side. Snapping her guns into place, two purple lasers shot out of the barrels, creating Melia's signature Guns/laser knife weapon's "The Asiimovs". Also charging forward, Melia held her knives

It didn't look like it could go on anymore, but unfortunately it shot out, grabbing Melia by the neck, and squeezing it tight. Unable to break free from the hold, Melia's vision blurred and blacked out.

Dew, taking care of the Paladin robot, didn't notice the dying Melia, only focused on the task at hand. Pulling out his rocket launcher, he fired the multi-barreled beast, 4 rockets swirling around before converging on one target. The explosion sent the behemoth stumbling backwards, and Dew wasn't going to stop there. Reloading one rocket, he turned around and fired it at the ground, rocketing himself forwards towards the robot, his rocket launcher now a shovel. Swinging down the shovel as soon as he landed, smashing a hole into the metal cockpit, revealing the frowning Torchwick below. Dew didn't stop there, as he was now stationed on top of the robot, a place where Roman wouldn't dare trying to hit. Reloading the whole 4 chambers, Dew aimed the rocket launcher down at the cockpit, getting a scared look from Roman. Pulling the trigger, Dew was sent flying up high, higher than he had actually intended. Panicking, Dew accidentally let go of his weapon, watching as it flew off from his reach. Crashing back to earth, Dew surprisingly not killed by the fall. Slowly getting up and checking his surroundings, he saw the charred body of the Paladin, still moving around and causing havoc. Dew wanted to get up, but he knew he couldn't. He blacked out shortly after.

At the same time, James ran over to the group of wounded girls and checked the wounds. Yang and Blake had fairly serious injuries, cuts of pretty deep measurements, but nothing that couldn't healed by Aura. Weiss was the best off, sporting only minor wounds such as scratches and bruises. So, after thirty seconds of getting the same reassuring "I'm fine" talks from the three of the girls, James ran over to Ruby, who he had not seen to. He scooped her head off the ground and laid it on his knee. He looked over Ruby and she was the worst of the lot. Deep cuts and stab wounds all centered on her abdomen area made for a lot of blood. James was a pretty good medic, learning the skill from his mother when he was little, but this was beyond his capability. Hesitating at what to do, Ruby flickered her eyes open, looking directly into James'.

"_James...?_" Ruby wearily said, her voice soft under the pain she was experiencing. James looked at Ruby firstly with wide open, surprised eyes, but then they narrowed, and tears started to form in his eyes.  
>"<em>Yeah, it's me Ruby. I'm here.<em>" As soon as James said this, Ruby gave a weak smile, her eyes also tearing.  
>"<em>I'm glad... Say...<em>" Ruby tried to sit up, but she was denied by James, holding his hand in front of her face, gently lowering her body down to a lying position.  
>"<em>Have we won...?<em>" James took a quick look around to see what Melia and Dew where up to, and what he saw was two bodies of his teammates on the ground, either dead or incapacitated. He looked back at Ruby, with urgency to help his teammates in his eyes. Ruby saw this.  
>"<em>Not good... Huh?<em>" Ruby's eyes trailed off, which scared James. He tried his hardest to get her eyes back onto him, but it wouldn't work. Her eyes were fixed on one place. James looked over at where she was looking, and he saw nothing of significance. This dead straight stare wasn't on purpose, it was due to, as far as James knew, fainting or death. And the latter wasn't an option. Flaring up his aura, James injected some of it into Ruby, to kick start and supercharge her aura's healing process. He laid her head down on the ground and stood up. Standing up, James walked up Yang and asked something.  
>"<em>Mind if I use your Semblance for a bit?<em>" James knew he didn't have to ask, as Yang wasn't joining the battle any time soon. Yang gave him a confused look, but she did end up giving James a slow nod of her head. James proceed to take Yang's Semblance, his eyes going blood red. And his pupils returning the normal rounded form. He could only steal parts of people one at time.

Antonio turned around and saw a very angry person heading his way. He didn't know who this was or why he was here, and Antonio didn't care. He was here on duty from Beacon, or so he was led to believe. Antonio's memory servo had been modified in this body, the White Fang's doing. Antonio was now a warrior for Beacon, there to deal with some traitors. He had also been told not to say anything, as the people might recognize him and try to deceive him. Walking forward with his F.M sword in hand, Antonio stared down his opponent, hoping to get an upper hand with some intimidation. But this foe was none the likes Antonio had ever faced. Instead of cowering in fear at the sight of him, this person returned the glare, but 3 fold. Antonio even started to quake in his boots. For some unknown reason, he feared this opponent, as if he was legendary or something. As Antonio got closer, he saw the Dust crystals held in his foe's hands. Red, Light Blue, Yellow and Green. The four basic types of Dust. Antonio didn't pay much attention to the Dust as in crystal form, they didn't pose much threat. Then, when the man was only 6 meters away, he crushed the crystals in his hands, resulting in a flurry of colors flowing around him, which all then converged on the gloves this person wore, which absorbed the Dusts and seemed to use them to power up the physical damage outputted by basic punches. What came next Antonio didn't expect. Where the man's hands had once been, they were now the claws of something reptilian. A forked tongue peaked its way of the mouth of the reptilian, putting Antonio off. Then, suddenly, a pillar of flames exploded towards the sky where the man had once been. A large scream broke through the inferno. Antonio chuckled to himself, which then became an evil laugh. Antonio couldn't believe that all of that build up led to the man exploding in a fiery blaze. But, like the birth of some kind of elder god, the man walked out. His body wasn't even human anymore. It was the body of a demon, covered in flames. The size of the beast was only just above Antonio's, something he could handle.

James charged forward, consumed with anger. His full flame form was a humanoid with goat legs and horns with demon wings on his back. He didn't like this form as it was the only one of the many forms that feeds off of anger. Swiping at the knight, he knocked the sword that it was using out of its hands and into a place off the side of the highway. The knight looked away from James, to see where his sword had gone, which gave James the time to make another strike. In a quick succession of punches and kicks, James managed to push the bot towards the Paladin, which was just making its way over. Stepping out with his right leg and spinning around, James knocked the knight square on his ass, taking the time to attack the Paladin. Opting to use long range methods, James flapped his demon wings and hovered to safe distance, and used a fast traveling ball of fire to test the Paladin out. As James expected, it dodged it, but only barely. This time, using a bowling method, he barreled the ball at the machine, hitting it square on. The result was unexpectedly underwhelming. It only left a pitiful scorch mark on the front of it. James knew he had to hit it harder. This time, he charged up an attack as the Paladin rushed James. Before the Paladin was even close to James, he had finished his powerful attack, but he delayed it. Only when the Paladin was in arms length of James did he act. Thrusting his hands forward, a beam of fire shot forth, engulfing the robot. ten seconds passed, and the flames were still going. James didn't want to stop. He was venting all of his anger into this one attack, hoping that something would happen. Then, the back of the machine burst open and Roman land on the ground, quickly making an escape. James stop the beam, and saw the melted corpse of the robot standing eerily still. He looked over at Roman, and saw standing before him a fired up Yang and her three teammates standing next to her. Ruby looked as good as Weiss, which made James really happy. So happy in fact that all of his anger melted away, along with his demon. Returning to normal, only with burnt black clothes on, James also made his way over to Roman, who looked like he was about to surrender. Suddenly the strange girl from the meeting showed up, which would have had James alerted if it wasn't for the ominous presence behind him. The knight stood before James, his sword in hand, his eyes glowing red. James thought that this angry version was pretty bad ass looking, but he wasn't going to have any of it now. As if about to start a fight with an invisible person, James stepped forward a couple of time before punching the air in front of him, creating a bolt of lightning that hit the robot. Anticlimactically, the bot spazzed out for a bit and fell to the ground. James turned his back on the robot, but when he heard the sound of it turning on again he looked back. The knight took off his helmet to reveal the familiar face below. Antonio.


	14. Chapter 14 - Extracurricular Pt 1

James and Antonio both sat down at the same time, though they were in separate rooms. Both having eyes stare at them that pierced their souls. Ruby and Melia both stood in front of their respective partner, thinking of what to ask their boyfriends. Both of the girls had a reason to be mad, and both the boys had a reason to hide what was making them angry from them. Antonio's secret a bit more severe than James', but James had still lied to Ruby about a lot of things.

The first person to speak in the five minute gap of silence was Ruby.  
>"<em>Right, so let me get this straight, you actually do have reptilian skin?<em>"  
>"<em>That is correct.<em>"  
>"<em>Where? All around or just on your hands?<em>"  
>"Arms and legs<em>.<em>" James looked at Ruby, staring into her usually soft silver eyes. However, this time her eyes sparked with severe disappointment.  
>"<em>Show me.<em>" Her voice was more demanding than she wanted, but it seemed to do the trick, causing a shocked look from James.  
>"<em>S-Show you? Now I don't that is the correct way to proceed, Ruby. I mean, come on, I... But-<em>"  
>"<em>Uh uh ah. No buts. Show me. I mean really, it's not like what you show me is going to affect the way I look at you. And it defiantly isn't going to get in the way of how much I love you.<em>"

As reluctant as he was, James just couldn't refuse Ruby. She had something about her that made James love her with all of his heart. He also guessed she thought the same. Slowly, he morphed out of his fake smooth skin hands, revealing the hideous claws and scales that were beneath. However, to James' surprise, Ruby's look hadn't changed a smidgen. Then, the rest of his forearm changed to the green, scaly skin as his hands. It stopped directly at his elbows, almost as if it did not dare move any further. Then he bent over and threw off his shoes. His feet became the same as his hands; clawed and scaly. As before, the green stopped at the joint, this time the knees. Ruby looked on, not giving away her emotions to James. Taking off his shirt, Ruby expected for his chest or something like that to happen, but something very different happened. Wings sprouted forth. For whatever reason, James was born not only reptilian, but with wings. Not bird wings with feathers, these were scaled over as well, the edge of the flesh protruded by bones. He was what some called a "Dragon". When James' wings where at full span, Ruby finally looked shocked. And it was the kind of "cover your mouth in disgust" shock as well.

However, instead of the usual screams and gasping in terror sounds, he heard sobbing. Ruby covered her eyes to hide the fact that the sob came from her, but in doing so she revealed an already streaming tear. She was crying? James couldn't grasp the concept of why anyone would cry over James' ugly body. The more and more Ruby sobbed, the more it sounded like joy. Joy? Yet again James was confused. He only understood when Ruby removed her hand and showed the happy smile below her silver and red eyes. She was overjoyed that James would show her his darkest secret; his demon. James walked over to Ruby and wiped a single tear away from her eye with his index claw. Then they just stared into each other, love reflected in the eyes of the other. James grabbed Ruby's hands and put them together inside of his own, completely consuming them within. Ruby looked up at James just as he came in to give Ruby a kiss. Ruby kissed James back, and the two stood in the middle of the room, kissing passionately, for 2 minutes straight.

James then heard a loud clang come from the room over the hall, where Antonio and Melia where. Opening the door and walking out, inadvertently dragging Ruby with him as he was still holding onto her hand. Through the open door, he could a desperate Melia trying to wake up a sleeping Antonio. James tried to go into the room, but Ruby stopped him, shaking her head in denial. James looked at her, and saw that her face was speaking clearly. _Let them be._

* * *

><p><strong>5 MINUTES BEFORE HAND<strong>

Melia paced in front of her scary-looking armor clad boyfriend, furious and at the same time sympathetic for his position. Glaring at him with the eyes of a demon every once in a while, Melia tried to form questions in her head. This was difficult as the past few hours have turned her mind into a nuclear reactor that is on meltdown. Stopping, Melia turned on a dime and faced Antonio.

"_When were you going to tell me, Antonio?_" Her voice deep with anger and disappointment.  
>"<em>Soon. I was going to tell you soon. However, it seems that soon is earlier than later.<em>"  
>"<em>Yeah, I guess so.<em>"  
>Melia shut her eyes and cringed her forehead.<br>"_So, what happened? What caused you to attack our friends out there?_"  
>Melia opened her eyes, the fire inside of them extinguished.<br>"I just ran a system check and found a little program called "Stuxnet" and a message along with it."  
>"Can you play the message?"<br>"Sure." Antonio pointed his long sword at the ground, and a square hologram appeared. Then, almost instantly, a video began to play.  
>"Hello, children!" The smug voice of Roman Torchwick pierced the ears of the two. The White Fang where behind this.<br>"If you are watching this, you have already found the little bug we put in your tin can friend." Tin can. Antonio hadn't heard that one before.  
>"Well, I guess it doesn't really matter what you do. Your enter body there is just a puppet that we can pull the strings on." Both Melia and Antonio raised an eyebrow. How that can be? The image of Roman smiled a wicked smile.<br>"How, you may ask? Like... this." With that last word, Antonio's body went limp and fell to the ground with a large clank. Melia got to the ground with him, pushing on his back and telling him if he was OK, and telling him to get up. Melia knew that his body had just simply shut down, but it felt like he had died right in front of her.

* * *

><p><strong>THE NEXT DAY<strong>

When James entered class, something different was happening, people seemed to be actually excited. James had remember only seconds afterward that it was Battle training day, a lesson where a winner goes on tournament is held. The winner also gets to choose who they fight next.

"_Hey Ruby!_" James said before hugging her.  
>"<em>Hey James! How you doing?<em>"  
>"<em>Ah, ya know, I feel pretty exposed.<em>"  
>"<em>Do you mean about last night?<em>"  
>"<em>Yeah.<em>"  
>"<em>Don't worry! I can keep a secret."<em>  
>Ruby's face beamed with happiness. James' face also lit up.<p>

Making their way over to the arena, James and Ruby talked about what happened last night. James was happy that Ruby was happy with the way things turned out. They didn't look at each other anymore differently than before, which gave James' heart the ability to rest. Sitting down next to each other, next to James was his teammates, and next to Ruby was hers. Everyone chatted quietly until Ms. Goodwitch appeared in the middle of the arena, looking up at them.

"_Students, settle down now._"  
>Everyone went silent.<br>"_Today is battle training. So, as per usual, the winner from last weeks lesson gets first pick._"  
>Last weeks winner, Pyrrha Nikos stood up and looked around for a partner. Her eyes settled on James, and he knew what that meant.<br>"_James._" Pyrrha was very quick about her selection. James hand't actually fought in this special class before, so he knew that Pyrrha wanted to gauge his talents._  
><em>

Both fighters made their way down to the arena floor. A little display with both parties pictures on it appeared on the big screen above the west end of the arena, with health bars next to them. James looked up at that, taking note to get a hair cut. Then he shifted his focus onto Pyrrha, who had already drawn her weapon. James reached into his back pocket and pulled out his trusty MMA gloves. Whilst James wore these as a way to control dust, he didn't need them. They didn't actually protect him from burns or the such. It was actually his tough scales that did that. Also reaching into his other back pocket, James pulled out a fire, lightning, earth and ice dust crystal. Crushing them all, the different elements spun around his hand and then fused with it, creating a beautiful light show. However, James wasn't here for entertaining people. He was here to win. And have fun. But mainly winning.

The timer struck zero, and it was go time. Charging, James closed the gap between him and Pyrrha, as Pyrrha is a lot more long range than James. However, she was also very good at close range. As James came into striking distance, Pyrrha's Javelin-Sword-Rifle swung at James, causing him to dodge to the side. Using this opportunity, James pulled his left arm back and his fist went crashing into Pyrrha's side. Knocking her off-balance and winding her, James pulled his right arm down and sent it flying into Pyrrha's lower jaw, flinging her backwards. Pyrrha landed on her back, and slid for a few meters. James ran up and jumped on top of her, his knees on either side of her body. Continuing his assault, James struck Pyrrha's face over and over again.

Pyrrha of course covered her face with her arms, but it did little to stop the impact of James' punches. Pyrrha tried on multiple occasions to kick James off of her, but he weighted too much. She knew it wasn't fat, and that it might be muscle, but it felt like a small car was placed on top of her. Wanting to finish the fight quickly, James changed his right fist into a ball of fire. With one strike with this elemental advantage, James sent Pyrrha's health from half to none. James then proceed to step up, removing his weight from Pyrrha's chest. Offering a hand to help her up, Pyrrha joined James standing up, and the two shock hands and exchanged complements, before Pyrrha walked off and James was crowned victorious.

"_Alright, James. Please choose your opponent for the next match._"  
>James looked around the crowd, and threw up between Ruby and Yang. However, the fact that Ruby might beat him put him off the idea.<br>"_I take Yang._"_  
><em>

Yang looked surprised. She didn't think that James would choose her. Though they do have a good relationship, he is more akin with her sister than her. But she didn't protest. Joining James and Ms. Goodwitch, Yang got into a fighting stance, readying herself for James' assault, as Pyrrha, the supposed best hunter in the year, got taken done fairly easily. When the clock struck 1, Yang began to move, expecting a charge from James. When the fight actually began, her prediction was proven correct. Slamming her fist into a fast James felt pretty satisfying, and firing off a shot into felt even more satisfying. However, when most people would ping off in the direction of which her fist followed through, James did not. In fact, he didn't even look fazed by it. A sharp pang of pain shot through Yang's stomach, winding her. She bent over and grabbed her belly, stumbling backwards. Then, when she looked up for a split second, a black shadow struck her square in the face. Yang was flung backwards hard, and she thought she might lose consciousness for a second. A shot of adrenaline woke her up, and she twisted around, landing on her feet.

The landing confused Yang, because she was sure that she couldn't do that, but she didn't have time to worry about that. Checking to see where James was, Yang checked how much ammo she had in her gauntlets. _19 shells, 19 shots, 3 minutes, 34 health. I can do this. _Stepping forwards with her left foot, Yang struck the air, firing a shot. Then, like the first time, she fired another shot. And then another. The stream of fiery pellets flying at high speed towards James was enough to kill a normal person. However, James wasn't normal. Simply taking the pellets head on, Yang could see the blood spray out of the wounds she created. Yang reached forward, a futile act to try and save James, who was now on his knees, his arms and body limp. Then, suddenly, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Yang straightened up, her hand on her mouth as she experienced first guilt then confusion. As sudden as he had disappeared, James reappeared, sprinting at Yang from behind. As soon as he was right behind her, he jumped out, his body horizontal, and grabbed Yang's head mid-air. Bringing his entire body down on her, she was lifted off her feet and her face hit the ground with a loud _bang. _James stood up, looking at the board, and saw that Yang's hit points reached zero. He had won with a RKO (Ridiculous Knock-Out) out of nowhere.


End file.
